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AUTHOR: 


SWEDENBORG 


7 


TITLE: 


SWEDENBORG  ON  THE 
ATHANASIAN  CREED... 

PLACE: 

NEW  YORK 

DATE: 

1867 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 


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BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGET 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


93r^.94 


f^  r" 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


De  athanasiano.symbole 

Eng# 

Swedenborg,  Emanuel,  1G88-1772. 

Swedenborg  on  the  Athanasian  creed  and  subjects  connected 
with  it.  Being  a  translation  of  the  "De  fide  athanasiana",  ap- 
pended in  separate  sections  to  parts  of  his  posthumous  work  en- 
titled "Apocalypsis  explicata  secundum  spiritualem  sensum,  ubi 
revelantur  arcana  qua3  ibi  prrcdicta  et  hactenus  ignota  f  uerunt". 
Londini,  1789.  New  York,  The  General  convention  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  in  the  United  States  of  America,  1867. 

207  p.    idY^, 


1.  Athanaslau  creed. 
In  tlie'U.  S.  A. 

Library  of  Congress 


I.  General  convention  of  the  New  Jerusalem 


f    1 


BT995.S9 


i2i 


38-31392 

238.1 


TECHNICAL  MICROFORM  DATA 


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IB     IIB 


INITIALS 


HLMEDBY:    RESEARCH  PUBLICATIONS.  INC 


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IDGE,  CT 


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SWEDENBORG- 


ON 


THE  ATHANASIAIS^  CREED 


AND 


SUBJECTS  CONNECTED  WITH  IT. 


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BEING  A  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  ''  DE  FIDE  ATHANASIANA," 

Appended  in  separate  sections  to  parts  of  his  Posthumous  Work  entitled 

"Apocalypsis  Explic\ta  secundum  spiuituai.em  sknsum,  ubi  revelantub  Aroana 

quie  ibi  pribdicta  et  hactenus  iqnota  ruerunt." 

Londiui,  17S9. 


NEW  YORK: 

PgBLiSIIjSD  BYJ  tIiB  J}4NiF,I{'Ai  GQMVENTION 
„■,,'•        «      »    »      •»•»•«• 

NEW  JJSRFSSiLSM  'l^'l-\n  ]I5NITF,r^  6TA7^  OF  AMERICA, 

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THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


j9k  ^.  «■ 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866,  by 

ROBERT  L.  SMITH, 

Treasurer  of  the   General  Convention  of   the  New  Jerusalem  in  the  United 

States  of  America, 

In  the  Clerk*s  Office  of  the  Dbtrict  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


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1.  ^'WHOSOEVER  will  le  saved  it  is  altogether 
necessary  for  him  to  keep  the  catholic  faith ;  which 
faith  unless  every  one  shall  keep  whole  and  entire  with- 
out douU^  he  shall  perish  everlastingly.  The  catholic 
faith  is  this,  that  we  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and 
Trinity  in  Unity  ;  neither  commixing  the  persons^  nor 
separating  the  substance  (essence).  Since  there  is  one 
person  of  the  Father,  another  of  the  Son,  and  another 
of  the  Holy  Spirit :  hut  the  Divinity  of  the  Father,  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  SpiHt,  is  one  and  the  same, 
the  glory  equal,  and  the  majesty  co-eternal.  Such  as  the 
Father  is,  such  is  the  Son,  and  such  is  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Father  is  uncreate,  the  Son  is  uncreate,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  uncreate.  The  Father  is  infinite,  the 
Son  infinite,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  infinite.  The  Father 
eternal,  the  Son  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  eterrcal : 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  eternals,  hut  one  eternal ; 
and  there  are  7iot  three  infinites,  nor  three  uncreate,  hut 
*  one  uncreate  and  one  infinite.  In  like  manner  as  the 
Father  is  omnipotent,  so  the  Son  is  omnipotent,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  omnipotent  r  and  yet  there  are  not  three 
omnipotents,  hut  one  omnipotent.    As  the  Father  is 


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4  THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 

Godj  SO  the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God^ 
and  yet  there  are  not  three  Gods^  hut  one  God.  Although 
the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son  is  Lord,  and  the  ILoly  Spirit 
is  Lord,  still  there  are  not  three  Lords,  hut  one  Lord : 
For  as  we  are  ohliged  hy  the  Christian  verity^  to  ac- 
knowledge  every  person  hy  himself  to  he  God  and  Lord^ 
yet  are  we  forhidden  hy  the  catholic  religion  to  say  there 
are  three  Gods  or  three  Lords  (according  to  others,  we 
cannot,  from  the  Christian  faith,  make  mention,  of  three 
Gods  or  three  Lords).  The  Father  loas  unade  of  none, 
neither  created  nor  horn.  The  Son  is  of  the  Father 
alone,  not  made  nor  created,  hut  horn  :  The  Holy  Spirit 
is  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  neither  "inade,  nor 
created,  nor  horn,  hut  proceeding.  Thus  there  is  one 
Father^  not  three  Fathers  ;  one  Son^  not  three  Sons  / 
one  Holy  Spirit,  not  three  Holy  Spirits,  And  in  this 
Trinity  none  is  prior  or  posterior  to  the  other,  neither 
is  he  greater  or  less  than  the  other  /  hut  all  the  three 
perso7is  are  together  eter7ial,  and  are  altogether  equal. 
So  that  in  all  things,  as  was  hefore  said,  the  Unity  in 
Tnnity,  and  the  Trinity  in  Unity  is  to  he  worshipped 
(according  to  others,  three  Persons  in  one  Godhead,  and 
one  God  in  three  Persons  is  to  be  worshipped).  WJiere- 
fore,  whoever  would  he  saved,  must  thus  think  of  the 
Trinity.  Lt  is  also  further  necessary  for  salvation, 
that  he  helieve  rightly  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  (according  to  others,  that  he  constantly  believe 
that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  true  man.)  Since  the 
true  faith  is,  that  we  helieve  and  confess,  that  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  God  and  Man,  God 
of  the  suhstance  (or  essence  ;  according  to  others,  na- 
ture) of  the  Father^  horn  hefore  the  world,  and  man  of 
the  substance  (according  to  others,  nature)  of  the  mother^ 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED.  5 

horn  in  the  world :  perfect  God  and  perfect  man,  con- 
sisting of  a  rational  soul  and  a  human  hody  :  equal  to 
the  Father  as  to  the  Divine  (principle),  and  inferior  to 
(according  to  others,  less  than)  the  Father  as  to  the 
Human  (principle).  Who,  although  God  and  man^  yet 
they  are  not  two,  hut  one  Christ :  one,  not  hy  conversion 
of  the  Divine  Essence  into  the  human  (of  the  Divinity 
into  body),  hut  hy  assumption  of  the  Human  essence 
into  the  Divine  (into  God) :  one  altogether,  not  hy  com- 
mixture of  essence  (of  substance),  huthy  unity  of  person 
(according  to  others,  because  they  are  one  person): 
Since  as  the  rational  soul  and  hody  are  one  man,  so  God 
and  man  is  one  Christ,  Who  suffered  for  our  salvation, 
descended  into  hell,  and  reascended  on  the  third  day 
from  the  dead,  and  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father  God  Almighty ;  from 
whence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead. 
At  whose  coming  all  men  shall  rise  again  with  their 
hodies  ;  and  they  who  have  done  good  things  shall  enter 
into  life  eternal,  and  they  who  have  done  evil  things,  into 
eternal  f  re.  This  is  the  catholic  faith^  which  unless  a 
man  helieve  faithfully,  he  cannot  he  saved.  Glory  to 
God  the  Father  and  Son  and  Holy  Spirit.  As  it  was 
in  the  heginiiing,  is  now,  and  shall  he  for  ever,  world 
without  end.     Amen.^^ 

2.  This  is  the  doctrine  concerning  God  received 
throughout  the  whole  Christian  world,  because  it  was 
derived  from  a  general  council.  But  before  we  take  this 
doctrine  into  consideration,  an  arcanum  shall  be  made 
known  concerning  the  state  of  man's  faith  and  love  in 
this  world,  and  afterwards  in  that,  into  which  he  comes 
after  death.  For  until  this  is  made  known,  man  has  no 
other  knowledge  than  that  every  one,  whatever  may  have 


6 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


been  the  quality  of  his  faith,  may  of  the  divine  mercy 
be  admitted  into  heaven  and  saved;  in  which  idea  is 
grounded  the  erroneous  belief  of  the  Eoman  Catholics, 
that  heaven  is  open  to  man  at  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
pope,  and  by  the  favor  of  his  vicars.  The  arcanum  is 
this,  that  all  the  thoughts  of  man  diffuse  themselves  into 
the  spiritual  world  in  every  direction,  much  in  the  same 
way  as  the  rays  of  light  are  diffused  from  flame.  Since 
the  spiritual  world  is  heaven  and  hell,  and  each  consists 
of  innumerable  societies,  hence  the  thoughts  of  man  must 
necessarily  diffuse  themselves  into  societies;  spiritual 
thoughts,  which  relate  to  the  Lord,  to  love  and  faith  in 
Him,  and  to  the  truths  and  goods  of  heaven  and  the 
church,  into  heavenly  societies;  but  merely  natural 
thoughts,  which  relate  to  the  love  of  self  and  of  the 
world,  and  not  at  the  same  time  to  God,  into  infernal 
societies.  That  there  are  such  extension  and  determina- 
tion of  all  the  thoughts  of  man,  has  been  hitherto  un- 
known, because  nothing  was  known  of  the  nature  either 
of  heaven  or  of  hell,  thus  that  they  consist  of  societies, 
that  there  is  consequently  an  extension  of  the  thoughts 
of  man  into  another  world  besides  that  into  which  his 
natural  sight  extends.  It  is  however  the  spiritual  world 
into  which  thought  extends,  but  it  is  the  natural  world 
into  which  vision  extends,  since  the  thought  of  the  mind 
is  spiritual,  and  the  vision  of  the  eye  is  natural.  That 
there  is  an  extension  of  all  the  thoughts  of  man  into  the 
societies  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  that  no  thought  can 
be  given  without  such  extension,  has  been  made  so  plain 
to  myself  from  the  experience  of  several  years,  that  I 
can  in  all  good  faith  dissert  it  to  be  true.  In  a  word,  man 
with  his  head  is  in  the  spiritual  world,  as  with  his  body 
he  is  in  the  natural  world.     By  head  is  here  meant  his 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED.  7 

mind,  consisting  of  understanding,  thought,  will,  and 
love ;  and  by  body  is  here  meant  his  senses,  which  are 
seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  taste,  and  touch.  And  because 
man  as  to  his  head,  that  is,  as  to  his  mind,  is  in  the 
spiritual  world,  he  is  therefore  either  in  heaven  or  in 
hell ;  and  where  the  mind  is,  there  the  whole  man  is, 
head  and  body,  when  he  becomes  a  spirit.  Man  is  more- 
over of  a  quality  altogether  similar  to  his  conjunction 
with  the  societies  of  the  spiritual  world,  being  an  angel 
of  a  quality  similar  to  his  conjunction  with  the  societies 
of  heaven,  or  a  devil  of  a  quality  similar  to  his  con- 
junction with  the  societies  of  hell. 

3.  From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident  that  the  ^y,  /y 
thoughts  of  man   are    extensions  into  societies  either  ^Q 

heavenly  or  infernal,  and  chat  unless  there  were  exten-        fr^/ 
sions,  there  would  be  no  thoughts;  for  the  thought  of  o^^/o 
man  is  like  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  which,  unless  it  had  .^v      ^ 
extension  out  of  itself,  would  be  either  no   faculty  of     J^    V 
sight  at  all,  or  blindness.     But  it  is  man's  love  that  de-  ^  * 
termines  his  thoughts  into  the  societies ;  good  love  de- 
termining them  into  heavenly  societies,  and  evil  love 
into  infernal  societies.     For  the  universal  heaven  is  ar- 
ranged generally,  specially,  and  particularly,  into  societies, 
according  to  all  the  varieties  of  affections  derived  from 
love ;  on  the  other  hand,  hell  is  arranged  into  societies 
according  to  the  lusts  of  the  love  of  evil  opposed  to  the 
affections  of  the  love  of  good.     Man's  love  is  compara- 
tively as  fire,  and  his  thoughts  are  as  the  rays  of  light 
derived  from  it ;  if  the  love  is  good,  then  the  thoughts, 
which  are  as  rays,  are  truths ;  if  the  love  is  evil,  then 
the  thoughts,   which  are  as  rays,   are  falsities.      The 
thoughts  derived  from  good  love,  which  are  truths,  tend 
towards  heaven,  but  the  thoughts  derived  from  evil  love, 


8 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


9 


which  are  falsities,  tend  towards  hell ;  thej  also  conjoin, 
adjust,  and  as  it  were  inoculate  themselves  into  homo- 
geneous societies,  that  is,  such  societies  as  are  of  similar 
love,  so  entirely,  that  the  man  is  altogether  one  with 
those  societies.     Man  is  an  image  of  the  Lord,  by  means 
of  love  to  Him.     The  Lord  is  divine  love,  and  in  heaven 
before  the  angels  He  appears  as  a  sun,  from  which  pro- 
ceed light  and  heat;  the  light  is  the  divine  truth,  and  the 
heat  is  the  divine  good ;  the  universal  heaven  is  from 
these  two  principles,  so  also  are  all  the  societies  of  heaven. 
The  Lord's  love  with  man,  who  is  an  image  of  Him,  is 
as  fire  from  that  sun,  and  from  this  fire  in  like  manner 
proceed  light  and  heat ;  the  light  is  the  truth  of  faith, 
and  the  heat  is  the  good  of  love,  each  from  the  Lord,  and 
each  engrafted  into  the  societies  with  which  man's  love 
acts  in  unity.     That  man  from  creation  is  an  image  and 
'likeness  of  God,  is  evident  from  Gen.  i.  26,  and  the  rea- 
son that  he  is  an  image  and  likeness  of  the  Lord  by 
means  of  love  is,  that  by  means  of  love  he  is  in  the 
Lord  and  the  Lord  in  him.     (John  xiv.  20,  21.)     In  a 
word,  there  cannot  exist  the  smallesirportionj)f^^ 
but  what  has  reception  ^iven  it  in  some  society,  not  with 
the  individuals  or  ano^els  of  the  society,  but  with  the 
affection  of  love,  from  which  and  in  which  the  society 
is.     Hence  it  is  that  the  angels  do  not  discover  anything 
of  the  influx,  nor  does  the  influx  in  any  way  disturb  the 
society.     From  these  considerations  the  above  truth  is 
evident,  that  man  whilst  he  lives  in  the  world,  is  in  con- 
junction with  heaven,  and  also  in  consociation  with  the 
angels,  although  both  men  and  angels  are  ignorant  of  it. 
The  cause  of  their  ignorance  is,  that  the  thought  of  man 
is  natural,  and  the  thought  of  an  angel  spiritual,  and 
these  make  one  only  by  correspondences.     Since  man, 


li 


by  the  thoughts  of  his  love,  is  inaugurated  into  the  so- 
cieties either  of  heaven  or  of  hell,  therefore,  when  he 
comes  into  the  spiritual  world,  as  is  the  case  immediately 
after  death,  his  quality  is  known  by  the  mere  extension 
of  his  thoughts  into  the  societies,  and  thus  every  one  is 
explored;  he  is  also  reformed  by  admissions  of  his 
thoughts  into  the  societies  of  heaven,  and  he  is  con- 
demned by  immersions  of  his  thoughts  into  the  societies 
of  hell. 

^'  Since  man  at  his  birth  is  not  in  any  society  either 
heavenly  or  infernal,  because  he  is  without  thought,  al- 
though  he  is  born  for  eternal  life,  it  follows  that,  in  the 
course  of  time,  he  opens  to  himself  either  heaven  or  hell, 
and  enters  into  the  societies,  and  becomes  an  inhabitant 
of^the  one  or  of  the^ther,  even  during  his  abode  in  tbg 
world.      The  reason  that  man  becomes  an  inhabitants 
'there  is,  that  his  real  habitation  and  his  native  country, ) 
as  it  is  called,  are  in  the  spiritual  world ;  for  he  is  to  live) 
there  to  eternity,  after  he  has  lived  a  few  years  in  the) 
natural  world.     From  these  considerations  it  may  be 
concluded  how  necessary  it  is  for  man  to  know  what  it 
is  in  him  that  opens  heaven;  and  what  also  opens  hell, 
and  introduces  him  into  their  respective  societies;  this 
will  be  shown  in  the  following  articles.     It  will  be  suffi- 
cient here  to  observe,  that   man  gains  admission  into 
societies  of  heaven  successively  more  numerous,  accord- 
ing to   the  successive  increase  of  his  wisdom,  and  into 
societies  successively  more  interior,  according  to  the  suc- 
cessive increase  of  his  love  of  good ;  and  that  in  pro- 
portion as  heaven  is  opened  to  him,  hell  is  closed.     He 
opens  indeed  hell  for  himself,  but  heaven  is  opened  to 
bim  by  the  Lord, 
i     5.  The  first  and  primary  thought,  .which  opens  heaven 

1* 


j.(:a.  h 


10 


THE  ATHAJfASIAN  CREED. 


/3.  iii^  0 


u  ^^-^-^^^52 to  man,  is  thought  concerning  God;  the  reason  is,  that 
^-7  God  is  the  All  of  heaven,  so  much^o  that  whether  we 

speak  of  heaven  or  of  God  it  is^  the  same  thing.  The 
divine  principles  which  cause  the  angels,  of  whom  heaven 
consists,  to  be  angels,  taken  togethor  are  God ;  and  hence 
it  is  that  thought  concerning  God  is  the  first  and  primary 
of  all  thoughts  that  opens  heaven  to  man,  for  it  is  the 
head  and  sum  of  all  truths  and  loves  celestial  and  spirit- 


uaT  But  the  thought  is  given  from  light,  and  it  is  given 
from  love;  the  thought  from  light  alone  being  the 
knowledge  that  God  is,  which  appears  as  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  existence,  but  still  it  is  not  so.  By  the 
thought  from  light,  man  has  presence  in  heaven,  but  not 
conjunction  with  it;  for  the  mere  light  of  thought  does 
not  conjoin,  but  places  man  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  of  the  angels.  For  that  light  is  like  the  light  of 
winter,  in  which  man  sees  with  as  much  clearness  as  in 
the  light  of  summer,  but  which  nevertheless  does  not 
conjoin  itself  with  the  earth,  nor  with  any  tree  or  shrub, 
flower,  or  blade  of  grass.  Every  man  also  has  implanted 
in  him  the  faculty  of  thinking  about  God,  and  of  under- 
standing by  virtue  of  the  light  of  heaven  the  things 
which  relate  to  God ;  but  the  thought  alone  from  that 
light,  which  is  intellectual  thought,  merely  causes  his 
presence  before  the  Lord  and  before  the  angels,  as  was 
said  above.  When  man  is  in  intellectual  thought  alone 
concerning  God  and-  the  things  which  relate  to  God,  he 
then  appears  to  the  angels  from  a  distance  as  an  image 
of  ivory  or  of  marble,  which  can  walk  and  utter  sounds, 
but  in  the  face  and  sounds  of  which  there  is  still  no  life. 
He  appears  also  to  the  angels  comparatively  like  a  tree 
in  time  of  winter,  with  naked  branches  without  leaves, 
but  of  which  there  is  some  hope  that  it  will  be  covered 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


11 


If 


with  leaves,  and  then  with  fruits,  when  the  heat  is  united 
with  the  light,  as  is  the  case  in  time  of  spring.  As 
thought  concerning  God  primarily  opens  heaven,  so 
thought  against  God  primarily  closes _it. 

6.  Thought  concerning  one  God  opens  heaven  to  man, 
because  there  is  but  one  God ;  on  the  other  hand,  thought 
concerning  several  Gods  closes  heaven,  because  the  idea 
of  several  Gods  destroys  the  idea  of  one  God.  Thought 
concerning  the  true  God  opens  heaven,  for  heaven  with 
all  that  belongs  to  it  is  derived  from  the  true  God ;  on 
the  other  hand,  thought  concerning  a  false  god  closes 
heaven,  for  no  other  god  but  the  true  God  is  acknow- 
ledged there.  Thought  concerning  God,  the  Creator,  the 
Eedeemer,  and  the  Enlightener  opens  heaven,  for  this 
trinity  is  of  the  one  true  God ;  thought  also  concerning 
God  as  infinite,  eternal,  uncreate,  omnipotent,  omnipresent, 
and  omniscient,  opens  heaven,  for  these  are  attributes 
of  the  essence  of  the  one  true  God.  On  the  other  hand, 
thought  concerning  a  living  man  as  God,  of  a  dead  man  as 
God,  or  of  an  idol  as  God,  closes  heaven,  because  they  are 
not  omniscient,  omnipresent,  omnipotent,  uncreate,  eternal, 
or  infinite,  neither  from  them  was  creation  or  redemption 
derived,  nor  is  there  from  them  any  enlightenment. 
Thought  concerning  God  as  Man,  in  whom  is  the  divine 
trinity,  namely,  what  is  called  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  opens  heaven  ;  on  the  other  hand,  thought  con- 
cerning God  as  not  Man,  which  is  presented  apparently 
as  a  little  cloud,  or  as  nature  in  her  smallest  principles, 
closes  heaven ;  for  God  is  Man,  as  the  universal  angelic 
heaven  in  its  complex  is  a  man,  and  every  angel  and 
spirit  is  thence  a  man.  Therefore  it  is  that  thought 
alone  concerning  the  Lord,  as  being  the  God  of  the  uni- 
verse, opens  heaven ;  for  the  Lord  says,  "  The  Father 


«l 


I 


12 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


hath  given  all  things  into  the  hand  of  the  Son."  (John 
iii.  35.)  "  The  Father  hath  given  to  the  Son  power  over 
all  flesh."  (John  xvii.  2.)  "  All  things  are  delivered  to 
Me  by  the  Father."  (Matt.  xi.  27.)  **A11  power  is 
given  to  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."  (Matt,  xxviii.  18.) 
From  these  considerations  it  is  evident,  that  man  without 
such  an  idea  of  God,  as  exists  in  heaven,  cannot  be  saved. 
The  idea  of  God  in  heaven  is  the  Lord ;  for  the  angels 
of  heaven  are  in  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  in  them,  and 
therefore,  to  think  of  any  other  God  than  the  Lord,  is  to 
them  impossible.  (See  John  xiv.  20,  2L)  Allow  me 
to  add,  that  the  idea  of  God  as  Man,  is  engrafted  from 
heaven  in  every  nation  throughout  the  whole  terrestrial 
globe,  but,  what  I  lament,  it  is  destroyed  in  Christendom : 
tl^  causes  will  be  shown  below. 

Jih  Th_e  thought  alone  that  God  exists,  and  that  the 
Lord  is  the  God  of  heaven,  opens  heaven  indeed  and 
renders  man  present  there,  yet  so  slightly,  that  he  is 
almost  unseen,  appearing  far  off  as  in  the  shade ;  but  in 
proportion  as  his  thought  becomes  more  full,  more  true, 
and  more  just,  concerning  God,  in  the  same  proportion 
he  appears  in  the  light.  The  thought  becomes  more  full 
by  the  knowledges  of  truth  which  are  of  faith,  and  of 
good  which  are  of  love,  derived  from  the  Word ;  for  all 
things  which  are  from  the  Word  are  djvin? ,  and  divine 
thinofs  taken  together  are  God.  The  man  who  thinks 
only  that  God  exists,  without  thinking  of  His  nature  or 
quality,  is  like  one  who  thinks  that  the  Word  exists,  and 
that  it  is  holy,  but  knows  nothing  of  its  contents;  or 
that  the  law  exists,  but  knows  nothing  of  w^hat  is  con- 
tained in  the  law  ;  when  yet  the  thought  of  what  God  is, 
15  52.  extensive  that  it  fills  heaven,  and  constitutes  al]  the 
wisdom  in  which  the  angels  dwell,  which  is  ineffable,  for 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


13 


in  itself  U^  i^  infinite,  because  God  is  infinite.  The 
thought  that  God  exists,  derived  from  His  quality,  is 
what  is  meant  in  the  Word  by  the  name  of  God.     _ 

8.  It  was  said  that  man  has  thought  from  light,  and 
that  he  has  thought  from  love,  and  that  thought  from 
light  causes  his  presence  in  heaven,  but  that  thought  from 
love  causes  his  conjunction  with  heaven ;  the  reason  is, 
that  love  is  spiritual  conjunction.     Hence  it  is,  that  when 
the  thought  from  man's  light  becomes  the  thought  from 
his  love,  he  is  introduced  into  heaven,  as  into  a  mar- 
riage ;  and  so  far  as  love  in  the  thought  from  light  is  the 
primary  agent,  or  leads  the  thought,  so  far  man  enters 
heaven,  as  a  bride  enters  the  bride-chamber,  and  is  mar- 
ried.    For  in  the  Word  the  Lord  is  called  the  bride- 
groom and  husband,   and  heaven  and  the  church  are 
called  the  bride  and  wife.      By  being  married  is  meant 
being  conjoined  with  some  society  in  heaven,  and  man  is 
so  far  conjoined  with  it,  as  he  has  procured  to  himself  in 
the  world  intelligence  and  wisdom  from  the  Lord,  by  the 
Word,  thus  so  flir  as  by  divine  truths  he  has  learned  to 
think  that  God  exists,  and  that  the  Lord  is  that  God. 
But  he  who  thinks  from  few  truths,  thus  from  little  intel- 
ligence, whilst  he  thinks  from  love,  is  conjoined  indeed 
with  heaven,  but  in  its  more  ultimate  principles.     By 
love  is  meant  love  to  the  Lord,  and  by  loving  the  Lord 
is  not  meant  loving  him  as  a  person ;  it  is  not  by  this 
love  alone  that  man  is  conjoined  with  heaven,  but  by  the 
love  of  divine  good  and  divine  truth,  which  are  the  Lord 
in  heaven  and  in  the  church.     And  these  two  principles 
are  not  lov^d  by  knowing  and  thinking  of  them,  or  by 
understanding  and  speaking  of  them,  but  by  willing  and 
doing  them,  for  this  reason  that  they  are  commanded  by 
the  Lord,  and  hence  because  they  are  uses.     Nothing  is 


7. 


RHJ^^ 


14 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


full  or  complete  until  it  becomes  a  deed  ;  the  deed  is  the 
end  in  view,  and  the  end  for  the  sake  of  which  the  deed 
is  done,  is  love ;  and  therefore,  it  is  from  the  love  of 
willing  and  doing  something,  that  the  love  of  knowing 
it,  of  thinking  of  it,  and  of  understanding  it,  exists.  Tell 
me  why  you  are  desirous  of  knowing  and  understanding 
a  thing,  unless  it  is  for  the  sake  of  an  end  which  you 
love ;  the  end  which  is  loved  is  a  deed.  If  you  say  it  is 
for  the  sake  of  belief,  it  is  belief  alone,  or  a  belief  merely 
of  the  thought,  without  actual  belief  which  is  deed  ;  it  is 
thus  a  nonentity.  You  are  very  much  deceived  if  you 
think  that  you  believe  in  God,  unless  you  do  the  things 
which  are  of  God  ;  for  the  Lord  teaches  in  John  :  "  He 
that  hath  my  precepts  and  doeth  them,  he  it  is  who 
loveth  Me,  and  I  will  make  my  abode  with  him ;  but  he 
who  loveth  Me  not,  kgepeth  not  my  words."  (xiv.  21, 
24.)  In  a  word,  to  love  and  to  do  are  one,  and  therefore 
in^  the  Word  where_ mention  i^  made  of  loving,  doing  is 
understood,  and  where  mention  is  made  of  doing,  loving 
is^also  understood  ;  for  that  which  I  love,  I  do. 

9.  There  is  thought  given  from  light  concerning  God, 
and  concerning  divine  subjects,  which  in  heaven  are 
called  celestial  and  spiritual,  and  in  the  world  ecclesiasti- 
cal and  theological  ;  and  there  is  thought  given  which  is 
not  from  light  concerning  them.  The  thought  which  is 
not  from  light  belongs  to  those  who  know  these  things 
and  do  not  understand  them.  Such  are  all  those  at  this 
day,  who  desire  that  the  understanding  should  be  kept 
under  the  obedience  of  faith  ;  insisting  even  that  men 
must  believe  and  not  understand,  and  that  intellectual 
faith  is  not  true  faith.  But  such  men  are  not  in  the 
genuine  affection  of  truth,  from  an  interior  principle,  and 
consequently  are  not  in  any  enlightenment.     Many  of 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


15 


them  are  in  the  conceit  of  their  own  intelligence,  and  in 
the  love  of  domineering,  by  means  of  the  sanctities  of  the 
church,  over  the  souls  of  men ;  not  aware,  that  truth 
desires  to  be  in  the  light,  because  the  light  of  heaven  is 
divine  truth,  and  that  the  understanding  truly  human  is 
aflfected  by  that  light,  and  sees  from  it.     For  if  the  under- 
standing did  not  thus  see,  it  would  be  the  memory,  and  not 
the  man,  that  has  faith,  and  such  faith  is  blind,  because 
without  an  idea  from  the  light  of  truth,  for  the  under- 
standing is  the  man,  the  memory  is  merely  introductory 
to  it.     If  that  which  is  not  intelligible  is  to  be  believed, 
man  might  have  been  taught,  like  a  parrot,  to  say  and  to 
remember,  that  there  is  even  sanctity  in  the  bones  and 
sepulchres  of  the  dead ;  that  dead  bodies  perform  mira- 
cles ;  that  man  will  be  tormented  in  purgatory,  if  he 
does  not  consecrate  his  wealth  to  idols  or  monasteries ; 
that  men  are  gods,  because  heaven  and  hell  are  in  their 
power;  besides  other  similar  things,   which  man  is  to 
believe  from  a  blind  faith  and  a  closed  understanding, 
and  thus  from  the  light  of  both  extinguished.     But  be  it 
known  that  all  the  truths  of  the  Word,  which  are  the 
truths  of  heaven  and  of  the  church,  may  be  seen  by  the 
understanding,  in  heaven  spiritually,  and  in  the  world 
rationally  ;   for  the  understanding  truly  human  is  the 
very  faculty  of  seeing  them,  for  it  is  separated  from  what 
is  material,  and  sees  truths  as  clearly  as  the  eye  sees 
objects ;  it  sees  truths  as  it  loves  them,  for  as  it  loves 
them  it  is  enlightened.     The  angels  have  wisdom  in  con- 
sequence of  seeing  truths  ;  wherefore,  when  any  angel  is 
told  that  this  or  that  is  to  be  believed,  although  it  is  not 
understood,  the  angel  replies :  "  Do  you  suppose  that  I  am 
insane,  or  that  you  are  a  god  whom  I  am  to  believe  ? 
If  I  do  not  see,  it  may  be  something  false  from  hell." 


1(5 


THE    ATIIAXASIAN    CUKKI). 


TIIK   ATllAN'ASIAN   CRKED. 


17 


10.    \\'(.  now  i)i-()ccc(l  to  llii;  <l,)ctiiiie  oC  tln'  'I'liiiity, 
wliich  was  (liawii   uj,  Ijy  Alluiiiasiiis,  aTid  conlii-ine.l  liv 
the  couiH'.il  <)(•  A'ico.     Tliis  (l.Karino  is  sii.^Ii  tlmt,  when  it 
lias  l)ccii  ivail,  il,  Iravrs  a  .-Icar  idea  that   tlinv  air  lliiv,; 
persons,  ami  lieiicc  UiaL  (hero  arc  three  unaiiiinous  (h.ds, 
but  it  leaves  an  obscure  idea  that  God  is  one  ;  wiieii  yet, 
as  was  said  above,  an  idea  from  the  thought  of  one  (Jod 
primarily  opens  heaven  U>  man;  and  on  tlie  other  hand 
an  idea  of  tlireo  (Jods  closes   it.     AVith    re-ard   lo  llie 
assertion  tiiat  the  Athanasian  doctrine,  when  it  has  been 
road,  leaves  a  clear  idea  that  there  are  tiirce  persons,  and 
hence  that  liiere  are  tliree  unanimous  Gods,  and  that  this 
unanimous  Trinity  produces  the  thought  that  there  is  one 
God,  let  every  one  consult  himself  whether  he  thinks 
anything  else.     For  it  is  said,  in  the  Athanasian  Creed, 
in  e.xpress  words :     "  ncra  /,s-  one  person  of  (he   FaOorr, 
another  of  the  ,Km,  and  another  of  lite  Uohj  ,Sj.>nt.     The 
Father  is  imcreatc,  infimte,  eternal,  omnipotent,  GoJ,  Lord  • 
so  likewise  is  the  >Son,  and  so  likewise  is  the  Uohj  Spirit. 
Also,  the  Father  was  made  and  created  of  none,  the  ,'im  ical 
horn  of  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  S^nril  proeeedeth  from 
both.     Thus  there  is  one   Father,  one  Son,  and  one  Jfoh, 
Sprrd.       And  in  this   Trinif;/  all   the    three  persons   are 
toijether  eternal,  and  are  aUnr/ether  ecpial."       Vmm    these 
words  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  think   otlu-rwi^ri 
than  that  there  are  three  Gods;  neither  could  Athana- 
sius  himself,  nor  even  tiie  Niccne  council,  think  (,tl,er- 
wise,  as  is  evi(h;nt  from  these  words  inserted  in  the  doc- 
trine:    "y|s   v;e   are  ollujed  hy   the    Christian   veritu    'to 
acknowledye  every  person  by  himself  to  ho  God  and  /^rd 
yet  are  wefnUkkn  hy  the  catholic  relipon  to  say  thne  are 
three  Gods  or  three  Lords:'     This  cannot  be  understood 
m  any  other  .sense  than  that  we  may  acknowled<re  ,1,,.^^ 


« 


•  ■ 

h 


Gods  iiikI  L(»i(]s,  but  not  ii:imc  llicin  ;  or  Mint  \vc  may 
tliinlc  oftluco  CuMh  and  Lonls,  hut  not  speak  oftluMU. 

II.  Tlint  lli(^  (loctriiKM)!'  \\\()  Tiinity,  whidi  is  r:\\\vA 
the  Alliaiiasiaii  ('rcrd,  leaves  an  oIjscuic  'nl<'a  that  (jcnlis 
one.  so  obseurc  even  as  not  to  remove  tln^  idea  oC  three 
Gods,  may  \h'.  manifest  iwin  tliis  eonsidiuiilion,  that  the 
doetrin(».  makes  one  God  of  tlirec^,  l)y  unity  ofrssenec, 

savin"":  '*  77//.'?  is  f/tr  rdlhnlfr  fit  if  h,  Ihdi  frr.  )iuti'sliin  otir. 
(int/  in  Triinttj^  (Oid  Triiiit;/  in  Unily,  vcilhcr  niinini.ri)i>i 
ilip,  pri'sniis^  hor  s(  jKfra/inf/  flic  rssrvr^  ;^^  and  afierwards: 

^'  Thus  111'    Uiiilif  in   Triiiili/^  nn<l  /It/'  '/Vini///  itt    (J'tiHij    /'■;   to 
he  irorshipp'-'iy     This  is  said  in  order  to  remov(,'  tlie  idea 
oftliree  Gods,  Ijut  it  does  not  alleet  the  understanding  iu 
any  other  way  tlian  by  suggesting  tliat  tlierc  are  three 
persons,  .and  that  all  have  one  divine  essenec.      So  tliat 
by  divine  cssenee  is  liere  meant  (jod,  tliougii   esseiiee,  as 
^vell  as  divinity,  majesty,  and  glory,  whieh  are  also  men- 
tioned, is  a  pi-edieate,  and  (iod,  as  being  a  ])erson,  is  the 
Fubjeet.     AVherelbre  to  say  that  essence  is  God  would  be 
like  savin<4   that   a  ])redieate   is   the   sul)ject,   when  yet 
essence  is  not  God,  but  belongs  to  God.      So  likewise 
majesty  and  glory  are  not  God,  but  belong  to  God,  iis 
a  ])r<'di('at<'  is  not  the  sul)jeet,  but  belongs  to  th^'.  sid)jr'et. 
llenee  it  is  evident  that  tin;  idea  of  three  Guds  as  three 
persons  is   not  removed.     1'his   may   be   illustrated   by 
means  of  a  com[)aris()n.     Sui»pose  there  arc  in  one  king- 
dom three  lulcrs  of  equal    power,  and  that  each  is  called 
kin"-.      h\  this  ease,  if  power  and  maj<;sty  are  meant  by 
kin<^,  they  mav,  in  eon^plianec  with  a  mandate  to  that 
clTeet,  be  called  and  styled  king,  though  not  easily  one 
kin<^     Ibit  since  it  is  peison  that  is  meant  by  king,  it  is 
imi)os^ible,  in  compliance  with  any  mandate,  that  tliree 
kin^^s  can   b(?  conceiv(Hl   to  be  one  king.-    If  therefore 


ill 


i^- 


-f 


m 


rn^ft^ i.y. yjlll - iiiiMi.n<(,.,p..H^T    ,., i»i«ll|iiy|ii.i).- 


^.:^y 


vir*' 


18 


i'f 

h 


TlIK   ATIIAXASIAN    CKEFI). 


tlicy  should  sa^'  to  you,  "■  A(l<livss  us  with  tho  same  froc- 
doin  that  you  think,"  you  would  undouhtodly  say  :   "  Ye 
kings;''   iu     fact    you     would     not    even    say:     '^  Your 
Majesty,"  but,  ''Your  i^raj'esti(\s/'      If  you  should  nply  : 
**1  think  as  1  speak,  and  in  obedience  to  the  mandate," 
jou  arc  deceived,  because  you  either  pretend  what  is  not 
true,  or  you   force  yourseU';   and   if  you   force   vours.-ll, 
your  thought  is  not  left  to  ilscll"  iVe(^,  but  is  rivet. ■(!  (.; 
your    words.     '"I'hat    this    is    the  case  was  seen   .also  bv 
Athanasius,    and    therefore    he    (explains    the    prec'Hlin" 
words  by  the  fobowing  :   "J.s  ny  urn  oU/r/rJ  Inj  i]tr  rhrls- 
tian  vcrihj  to  nchnoidahjc  rnry  pcrso)!  Inj  JiimsfJf  in  h"  (i>,d 
and  Lord ^  y<i  arc  weforhiddrii  />//  ilic  rathoUc  rrliijion  to  S'u/ 
thai  iJiere  are  lJ,rcc   Gods  or  ihnc  Lords^     'Jliese   words 
cannot  be  understood  as  C(uivevinn-  anv  other  nu\anin^ 
than  that  we  may  acknowledge  three  Gods  and   Loj-ds, 
but  not  name  them  ;  or  that  we  may  think  of  tlnve  (h)ds 
and  Lords,  but  not  speak  of  them,  because  it  is  contrary 
to    the    Christian    faith;  that    we    may    in    like    m:inii'M' 
acknowh^lge    and    think    of   thre*^    as    infmit^',    ctrmMl, 
uncrcate,  and  omnipotent,  because  there  are  three  ])ersons, 
though  we  may  not  speak  of  more  tlian  one.     The  rea- 
sons that  Athanasius  add(Ml   the  words    iust   fiunte(l   j-^ 
that    no   one,    nut   cw^n  hiniscU;    could    thirdc  othrrwi-v. 
Every   one    can,    however,    speak    otherwise;    juid    the 
reason    tliat  (^v(;ry  one  (;ught  to  speak  so  is,   that  it  is 
taught  I'rom  the  ( Ihristian  rchgion  jhat  is,  from  the  W'oid, 
that  there  an!  not  three  (lods,  ])ut  that  there  is  ojie  (In.l. 
2^Ioreover,  the  property  which  is  assigned  to  each  ]kv<^a\ 
as  his  special  attribute,  as  creation  to  the  Father,  redemp- 
tion to  the  Son,  and  enlightenment  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 
not  thus  one  and  the  same  with  the  three  persons,  and 
yet  each  property  enters  the  (bvine  essence,  for  cre[iti(;n, 


Tin:  A  THAN  ASIAN   ciip:F.n. 


19 


redemption,  and  enlightenment,  are  divine.  J]esides, 
what  m;in  who  is  desirous  to  convert  the  idea  of  three 
Gods  into  that  of  on(\  (Jod,  thinks  that  the  7)i)n'f}/  in 
Unity  (tud  ih*^'  Uiiihf  in  Triiiifij  is  In  Itr  n-f/rs/t/jfjird^  ntilh'r 
cojninij-iiif^  flif  jicrso/fs^  jno'  s^jmnf/in'/  tin'  (s^^tDO'?  Who 
can  do  this  bv  anv  metaphysical  sid)tlety  wdiich  surpasses 
the  ap])]i'hension  ?  The  simph'  an;  utterly  unable  ;  and 
the  learned  hiniy  th(^  subject  over,  saying  to  thcmselv(\s, 
*' This  is  mv  d(;ctrine  and  faith  concerning  God  ;  "  with- 
out  retaining  (Mther  in  thcMr  memoiy  from  th<!  obscure 
idea,  or  in  tlicir  idea  (rom  th(^  meuKjrv,  anything  more 
than  this,  that  there  are  tliree  j>ersons,  and  one  God. 
Every  man  also  makes  the  one  out  (;f  tin;  thnu;  in  his 
own  wav,  but  this  onlv  when  he  speaks  and  writes;  ibr 
when  lie  thinks,  he  cannot  think  otherwise  than  of  three, 
and  of  one  irom  the  unanimity  of  the  thre(! ;  and  many 
do  not  think  of  one,  even  fn)m  this  unanimity.  But 
listen,  j^^ader!  J>o  not  say  to  yourself,  that  these  re- 
marks are  too  harshly  or  too  Ixjldly  made  against  the 
faith  iniiveisallv  i-eeeiv<d  concmning  th(^  triune^  God; 
for  in  the  following  pages  you  will  see,  that  all  the  col- 
lective and  single  things  which  are  wiitten  in  the  Atha- 
nasian  cn^cd,  are  i)i  agnM^uKMit  with  the  truth,  if  oidy, 
instead  of  thre(\  persons,  one  person  is  ackinnvlcdged,  in 
whom  the  Trinity  centivs. 

11.  AnollnT  ]><>int.  which  tlu^  Athanasian  doctrine 
teaches  is,  that  in  the  Loid  there  ai'c  two  essences,  the 
J)ivi!,r  and  the  llum:m.  il«jv,  :,o:tin  the  idea  is  el«-ar 
that  the  J.onl  has  a  Divine  principle  and  a  Jluman,  that 
is.  that  the  I.ord  is  (Jod  and  man;  but  the  idea  is  ob- 
scure, that  the  Divine  principle  of  the  J.ord  is  in  the 
lium'an,  as  the  soul  is  in  the  b(»dy.  I'he  clear  i<lca  that 
the  Eord  has  a  J^ivine  principle  an.l  a  Jluman,  is  drawn 


'..511 


■.■■«' 


i*--^ 


fc    «  ">"  Vti 


i-'J 


'■■M 


-yj. 


S^^^T'^P'wj^^g^l^j^^^^^TjjaK?? 


20 


THE   ATIIANASIAX   CREED. 


fVoiii  iJicsi^,  words:    "  TJir.  fnir  faill,    is,  iJmt   irr  I>rf,\  rr  nuJ 
co)}frss  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy  tJw  Sou  o/  (]nd,   is  (h,<l 
and  man  ;   God  of  iJte  suhstcmcc  of  ij,»\  Voilur  horn  hrft.r''  ihn 
xcorld;  and  man  of  ilic  snhslancc  of  llm  molltrr  horn  in   ll>r 
7rorhl ;  prrfvi  (Hod  and  prrfat  intrn^  ronsisfintj  of  a  rnfiou'd 
soul.     Iviual  (o  {Jic  Fatlni'  as  to  Ou-  Divine  2^yinriph\  and 
inferior  to  tJicKf/htr  as  to  iJic  Jbrman  ])ri)}rijdey   J  lore  \\\i\ 
c](.'ar  idea   tcniiinatos,  because   fn^ni    (he   notions   which 
loHow   an    ohseurt*    idea    is    produced.      Notions   (>('   this 
kind,  wliich  belong  to  an  obscure  idea,  not  entering  the 
memoiy  from  any  enlightened  thought,  gain  no  place  in 
it  but  amongst  sueli  notions  as  do  not   belong  to  intel- 
lectual light.     And  since  no  such  notions  there  appear 
before  the  understanding,  tliey  hide  themselves,  and  can- 
not be  called  Ibrlh  out  of  the  memory  with  the  notions 
Mdiieh  originate  in   intellectual  light.     The  point  in  the 
doctrine  involved  in  the  obscure  idea  is,  that  the  Divine 
l^irinciple  of  the  Lord  is  in  his  hmnan  principle,  as  the 
soul  is  in  the  body;   for  on  this  subject  it  is  thus  said  : 
"TI7/0,  aldiovrjli  he  he  God  and  man,  yd  i],r)j  are  not  /;/v,, 
hut  one  Christ;  one  altntjether  hy  unity  of  jKrsun  ;  siitce  as 
the  reasonahle  soul  and  the  hody  are  one  man,  so  Go,l  uad 
man  is  one  Christ.''     The  idea  contained   in   these  words 
is  in   itself  indeed    cl(\ir,  but  it  becomes  obscurer  bv  the 
following   words:    ''One,   not  hy  conversion  (f  the  JJivine 
essence  into  tlieUanmn,  hut  hy  the  assumption  of  the  Ihunan 
essence  into  the  Divine  ;  one  altoycther,  not  hy  connnixture  of 
essence,  hut  hy  unity  of  person.''    Since  the  clear  idea  pn^- 
vails  over  the  obscure,  tlicrefore  most  people,  both  sim- 
ple and  learned,  think  of  the  Lord  ns  of  an  ordinary  man 
like  themselves,  and  in  this  case  they  do  not  think'at  the 
same  time  of  llis  Divine  principle.     If  they  do  think  of 
the  Divine  principle,  in  that  case  they  separate  it  in  their 


I 


^ 


-I 


.  -ri*  f^i^uuidJ  JOU  OQ 


THE   ATHAXASIAN    CliEEI). 


21 


'<'•'•'  bom  the  lIum.Mn,  and  ]>y  th.'it  menus  also  destroy 
the  unity  of  person.  If  they  are  asked,  where  llisJ)ivine 
}>rinciple  is,  thev  replv  accordimr  to  their  idea,  that  it 
is  in  heaven  with  the  Father.  The  reason  tliat  they 
reply  in  this  w;iy,  and  have  this  ])ercc])tion  is,  that  it  is 
repugnant  to  them  to  think  that  the  Human  j)rinciplc 
is  l)ivine,  and  thus  together  with  its  Divine  ]»riiieiple 
in  Heaven.  '.Fhcy  an*  not  aware  that,  when  in  thouirht 
th<w  sc[)arat(y  the  Divine;  pi  inciple  ol*  tin;  Le)rd  (lom  his 
Human,  they  not  only  think  contrary  to  their  own 
doctrine,  which  teiiches  that  the  Divine  j)rinciple  of  the 
Jjord  is  in  his  Human,  as  the  soid  is  in  the  body,  that 
there  is  also  unity  of  jierson,  that  is,  that  the  Divine 
])rinciple  and  the  Human  are  oiui  ])erson,  but  they  also 
charir(i  that  doctrine  und(\s(^rvedlv  with  the  contradiction 
or  lallacy,  that  the  Human  piiiici])le  of  the  Loid  was, 
toiicther  with  the  rational  soul,  iVom  the  mother  alone, 
thouirh  everv  man  is  rati(;nal  l)y  virtue  of  the  soul  wdiicli 
is  derived  lr(jm  the  fither.  ]>ut  that  there  is  such  a 
thought  in  their  minds,  and  such  a  scpai"ation  made,  fol- 
lows also  fi'oni  the  idea  of  three  (Jods;  for  fn^m  tliis  idea 
it  is  suj>])osed  that  tlie  ])ivine  j)rinciple  of  tlie  Lord  in  the 
Human  is  from  the  Divine  ]»rincip|(;  of  th(^  leather,  who 
i<  tlie  iirst  [mu-sou,  though  it,  is  llis  own  Divine;  principle, 
which  <lcscend(ul  from  heaven  and  assumed  the  Human. 
If  man  does  not  rightl}'  ]K'i-ceive  this,  he  may  possibly 
su])pnse,  that  the  k'ather  fioni  whom  are  all  things  was 
not  one  Livine  ])iiii<'lp]<',  but  threefold,  though  this  can- 
not be  received  with  any  belief.  .In  a  word,  they  who 
se])arate  the  Divine;  prineii)le  of  the  [jord  from  the  II  u- 
nian  and  do  not  think  that  the  Divine  is  in  the  Human, 
as  the  soul  is  in  the  body,  an<l  that  they  are  one  person, 
may  fall  into  groi-'s  ideas  concerning  the  Lord,  even  into 


i 

i 

9 


l\ 


I    « 
i 


■:,    i 


. .  i 


0'> 


TinC   ATIIANASIAX    CRKKI). 


IIk;  I(K\-l  ns<)(*:L  man  srj)ar;U('  IVoin  asoul.  H('\v:i!"i'  tluiv- 
ibre  that  you  do  not  think  oC  the  Lord  as  of  a  man  hke 
yourself,  but  rather  think  of  Ifim  as  of  ^fan  wlio  is  (iod. 
Listen,  Header !  A\^hen  3'ou  are  perusing  these  pairfv-^, 
voLi  niav  think  tliat  you  have  in  no  instance,  even  in 
thought,  separated  the  Divine  })rineiple  of  the  Lord  from 
Lis  Human,  or  the  Human  IVoni  the  Divine.  l>ut  pra\^ 
consult  \'our  own  thoui/ht,  wlien  vou  have  directed  it  to 
the  Lord,  wiic^tlier  you  have  in  anv  inslanee  considered, 
that  the  Divine  principle  of  the  Lord  is  in  liis  Human  as 
tlic  soul  is  in  the  bodv;  whether  you  liave  not  thouirht 
• — oi',  if  you  pL'as(^,  {»vt'n  now,  whrlhci'  vou  do  not  think 
— of  his  Human  principle  and  of  his  Divine  principle 
separately;  when  again  you  think  of  his  Human  prin- 
ciple, whether  you  do  not  think  that  it  is  like  the  human 
])rinci[)le  of  another  man;  and  when  of  liis  Divine  prin- 
ci])le,  whether  it  is  not,  in  your  id«'a,  with  th<i  l-'ather. 
1  have  quest ioned  great  nmnbeis  on  this  subject,  even 
the  primates  of  the  chureli,  and  thiy  have  all  n^phed 
that  the  case  is  so.  And  when  1  have  said  that  still  it  is 
in  agreement  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Atlianasian  tVeed, 
which  is  the  very  doctrine  of  their  church  concerning'- 
God  and  the  Lord,  that  the  Divine  principle  of  th(^  Lord 
is  in  his  Human,  as  the  soul  in  the  bodv,  thcv  have 
replied,  that  they  were  not  aware  of  it.  And  when  I 
liave  read  to  tlu^m  these  words  of  the  doeti'ine,  '*  Our 
Lord  JcsKs  ('lirf.sl  (lie  So)i  of  (lod^  (d(/tOf/f//i  lie  ],r  (Jml  (uxl 
nnm^  yrt  flu  ij  arc  not  firn  hid  one  CJn'isl :  (me  nJhijdluir  hu 
iiniJy  of  jicrsou :  since  as  the  rcaso'nahh  soul  and  hnd.tf  are 
one  man  J  so  twd  and  man  is  one  CJtrist  ;■''  they  have  been 
silent,  and  confessed  afterwards  that  they  had  not  ob- 
served them,  being  indignant  at  themselves  for  havin^^- 
so    supcrncially   examined    their   own    doctrine.     Sonic 


«  -— T  ^tn*  f^^uuidj  jou  0(j 


'\l[K    ATHANASIAN    CliKKD. 


23 


Lave  on   thc'-r  occasionM  abandnnrd    tlnir   myi'lic,   union 
of  the  Divine  principle  of  the  Lather  with  the  Human 
of  the  Lord.    That  the  Divine  principle  is  in  the  Human 
of  the  Lord,  as  the  soul  is  in  tL(^  bo<ly,  tbe  Word  t(\aciies 
and  testilics  in  MattLcw  and  in  Luke;  in  ALittLew  tlius: 
"  >rarv   b(Mng  betrotLed    to   Jos(^pL,  before    tliey  came 
togetlier  was  (bund  to  be  witL  cLild  by  tiie  Holy  Spirit: 
and  an  angel  said  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  lu^ar  not  to  take 
]\[ary  thy  wife,  for  lluit  wLicL  is  conceived  in  lier  is  from 
tlie  iloly  Spirit.     And  Joseph  knew  her  not  until  she 
brought  forth  her  first-born  Son,  and  he  called  Lis  name 
Jesus."    (i.  IS,  20,  25.)     And  in  Luke:  ''TLe  angel  said 
.  to  Marv,  LcLold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  the  womb,  and 
shalt  bring  forth  a  son,  and   sLalt   call  Lis  name  Jesus. 
Mary  said^o  tLe  angel,  How  sLall  tLis  be,  since  I  know 
not  a  man?  tLe  angel  answering,  said,   TLe  Holy  Spirit 
shall  come  u])on  tliee,  and  tLe  power  c)f  tLe  Higliest  shall 
overshadow  thee,  wherefore  also  the  Holy  Thing  which 
is  born  of  thee  sliall  be  cabled  tLe  Son  of  God.^'     (i.  31, 
oi    3o.)    From  tLcse  wonls  it  is  evident,  tliat  tLe  Divine 
principle  was  in  tLe  Lord  from  conception,  and  tLat  it 
was  His  life  from  tLe  LatLer,  wLicL  life  is  His  soul.    AVe 
sLall  now  j.roceed   to  sLow,  tliat  even   tLe   tilings  con- 
tained   in   th(;    Atlianasian    doclrine,   which    j)roduce   an 
obscure  id(\a  of  the  Lord,  are  in  agreement  with  the  truth, 
^vh.•n  the  trinity,  nami^ly,  Katlier,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
is  thouLdit  an<l  i)eli.'ved  to  be  in  th(^.    Lord  as  in  one  per- 
son.    Without  this  thought  and  bdi.'f,  it  may  be  sai<l,  ns 
indeed  it  is  said,  that  Christi:ins  dilfering  from  all  people 
and  nations  in  the  whole  world,  wlio  have  the  gift  of  rea- 
son, worshi}.  three  Gods;  though  the  Christian  world  may 
and  ouLdit  to  surpass  all  men  in  tlu^  clearness  of  th(Mr  doc- 
trine and  belief,  thatliod  is  one  both  in  essence  and  person. 


is 


I' 


I 


■^ 


.  S 
s 

f  i 


r^ 


l! 


\f^ 


-.■^■'  hi 


i'     .f>5 


'IP''t«-^>,'!lfPf.» 


•<♦■;.'    I 


24: 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


25 


13.  It  has  been  shown,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Atha- 
nasian  Creed,  when  it  has  been  read,  leaves  a  clear  idea, 
that  there  are  three  persons,  and  hence  that  there  are 
three  unanimous  Gods  ;  and  an  obscure  idea  that  God  is 
one,  so  obscure  even,  that  it  does  not  remove  the  idea  of 
three  Gods.     And  further,  that  the  same  doctrine  leaves 
a  clear  idea  that  the  Lord  has  a  Divine  principle  and  a 
Human,  that  is,  that  the  Lord  is  God  and  Man ;  but  an 
obscure  idea  that  the  Divine  and  Human  principles  of  the 
Lord  are  one  person,  and  that  his  divine  principle  is  in 
his  Human,  as  the  soul  is  in  the  body.     It  has  been  also 
said  that  all  things  contained  in  that  doctrine,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  both  such  as  are  clear  and  such  as  are  ob- 
scure, nevertheless  agree  and  coincide  with  the  truth, 
provided  that,  instead  of  saying  that  God  is  one  in  essence 
and  three  in  person,  it  is  believed,  as  the  truth  really  is, 
that  God  is  one  both  in  essence  and  in  person.     There  is 
a  trinity  in  God,  and  there  is  also  unity ;  that  there  is  a 
trinity  may  be  manifest  from  the  passages  in  the  Word 
where  mention  is  made  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit ;  and  that  there  is  unity,  from  the  passages  in  the 
Word  w^here  it  is  said  that  God  is  one.     The  unity  in 
which  is  the  trinity,  or  the  one  God  in  whom  is  the  three- 
fold principle  {trinum\  is  not  given  in  the  Divine  princi- 
ple which  is  called  the  Father,  nor  in  the  Divine  principle 
which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  in  the  Lord  alone. 
For  in  the  Lord  there  is  a  threefold  principle,  namely,  the 
Divine  principle  which  is  called  the  Father,  the  Divine 
Human  which  is  called  the  Son,  and  the  Divine  Proceed- 
ing which  is  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  this  threefold  principle 
is  one,  because  it  belongs  to  one  person,  and  may  hence 
be  called  triune.     In  what  now  follows  will  be  seen  the 
agreement  of  all  the  points  of  the  Athanasian  doctrine 


with  what  is  here  asserted ;  First,  of  the  trinity  :  Secondly^ 
of  the  unity  of  person  in  the  Lord :  Thirdly,  that  it  is 
owing  to  the  divine  providence,  that  this  doctrine  was  so 
written,  that  although  it  is  at  variance  with  the  truth,  it 
still  agrees  with  it.  It  will  afterwards  be  proved  gener- 
ally that  the  threefold  principle  is  in  the  Lord  ;  and  then 
specially  that  He  is  the  Divine  principle  which  is  called 
the  Father,  that  He  is  that  which  is  called  the  Son,  and 
that  He  is  that  also  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit. 

14.   We  shall  now  proceed  to  the  agreement  of  all  the 
points  of  the  Athanasian  doctrine  with  this  truth,  that 
God,  in  whom  is  the  threefold  principle,  is  one  both  in 
essence  and  person  ;  and  that  this  agreement  may  be  es- 
tablished and  made  clear,  we  shall  proceed  in  due  order. 
The  Athanasian  doctrine  first  teaches  thus  :  ''  The  catholic 
faith  is  this^  that  ive  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trin- 
ity in  Unity,  neither  commixing  the  persons  nor  separating 
the  essence^     If  instead  of  three  persons  one  person  is 
understood,  in  whom  is  the  threefold  principle  or  trinity, 
these  words  are  in  themselves  truth,  and  are  perceived 
with  a  clear  idea  thus  :  ''  The  Christian  faith  is  this,  that 
we  worship  one  God,  in  whom  is  the  trinity,  and  the 
trinity  in  one  God,  and  that  God,  in  whom  is  the  trinity, 
is  one  person,  and  that  the  trinity  in  God  is  one  essence: 
thus  there  is  one  God  in  trinity,  and  trinity  in  unity, 
neither   are  the   persons  commixed,  nor  is   the  essence 
separated."     That  the  persons  are  not  commixed,  nor  the 
essence  separated,  will  appear  more  clearly  from  what  now 
follows.    The  Athanasian  doctrine  further  teaches,  "  Since 
there  is  one  person  of  the  Father,  anotJier  of  the  Son,  and 
another  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  the  Divinity  of  the  Father,  of 
Uie  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  one  and  the  same,  Hie  glory 
equaiy    In  this  case  again,  if  instead  of  three  persons  one 

2 


26 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


27 


person  is  understood,  in  whom  is  the  threefold  principle 
or  trinity,  the  words  are  in  themselves  truth,  and  with  a 
clear  idea  are  perceived  thus  :  "  The  trinity  in  the  Lord, 
as  in  one  person,  is  the  Divine  principle  which  is  called 
the  Father,  the  Divine  Human  which  is  called  the  Son, 
and  the  Divine  Proceeding  which  is  called  the  Holy 
Spirit;  but  the  Divinity  or  divine  essence  of  the  three  is 
one,  the  glory  equal."  Again  :  **  Such  as  Hie  Father  is, 
such  is  the  Son,  and  such  is  the  Holy  Spirit: "  These  words, 
are  in  this  case  perceived  thus  :  "  Such  as  is  the  Divine 
principle  which  is  called  the  Father,  such  is  the  Divine 
principle  which  is  called  the  Son,  and  such  is  the  Divine 
principle  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit."  And  further : 
"  The  Father  is  uncreate^  the  Son  is  uncreate,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  uncreate :  the  Father  is  infinite,  the  Son  is  infinite, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  infinite:  the  Father  is  eternal,  the  Son 
is  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  eternal :  neva^tlieless,  there 
are  not  three  eternals,  but  one  eternal:  and  there  are  not  three 
infinites,  hut  one  infinite  ;  neither  are  there  three  uncinate, 
hut  one  uncreate:  as  the  Father  is  almighty,  so  the  Son  is  al- 
mighty, and  the  Holy  Spirit  almighty,  and  yet  there  are  not 
three  almighties,  hut  one  almighty T  If,  instead  of  three 
persons,  one  person  is  understood,  in  whom  is  the  three- 
fold principle  or  trinity,  in  this  case  also  these  words  are 
in  themselves  truth,  and  with  a  clear  idea  are  perceived 
thus:  "As  the  Divine  principle  in  the  Lord,  which  is 
called  the  Father,  is  uncreate,  infinite,  omnipotent,  so  the 
Divine  Human  principle  which  is  called  the  Son,  is 
uncreate,  infinite,  omnipotent,  and  so  the  Divine  prin- 
ciple which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  uncreate,  infinite, 
and  omnipotent ;  but  these  three  are  one,  because  the 
Lord  is  one  God,  both  in  essence  and  person,  in  whom  is 
the  trinity."     In  the  Athanasian  doctrine  are  also  the 


I 


following  words:     ''As  the  Father  is  God,  die  Son  also  is 
God,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God,  nevertheless  there  are  not 
three  Gods,  hut  one  God.     So  the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son  is 
Lord,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  is  Lord,  yet  there  are  not  three 
Lords,  but  one  Lord:'     In  this  case  again,  if  instead  of 
three  persons  one  person  is  understood,  in  whom  is  the 
threefold  principle  or  trinity,  the  words  are  perceived 
with  a  clear  idea,  thus :  "  That  the  Lord,  from  his  Divine 
principle  which  is  called  the  Father,  from  his  Divine  Hu- 
man which  is  called  the  Son,  and  from  his  Divine  Pro- 
ceeding which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  one  God  and 
one  Lord,  since  the  three  Divine  principles  called  by  the 
names  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  are  in  the  Lord  '^  p  p 
one  in  essence  and  in  person."     Further:  '' Forasmuch  J*  ^^'^  ' 
as  ive  are  obliged  by  the  Christian  verity  to  acknowledge  every  11  ^ 
person  by  himself  to  be  God  and  Lord,  yet  are  we  forbidden 
by  the  catholic  religion  to  say  there  are  three  Gods  or  three 
Lordsy     (In  other  copies  thus :   "  As  we  are  bound  by 
the  Christian  verity  to  acknowledge  every  person  to  be 
God  or  Lord,  so  w^e  cannot  in  the  Christian  faith  make 
mention  of  three  Gods  or  three  Lords.")     These  words 
cannot  be  understood  in  any  other  way  than  that  accord- 
ing to  Christian  truth  we  must  ackno  ?srledge  and  think 
that  there  are  three  Gods  and  three  Lords :  but  that  still 
we  may  not,  according  to  the  Christian  faith  and  religion, 
Rpeak  of  them  or  name  them.     This  is,  however,  done, 
for  most  men  think  of  three  Gods  who  are  unanimous, 
and  hence  call  them  a  unanimous  trinity,  though  they  are 
still  bound  to  say  one  God.     But  as  there  are  not  three 
persons,  but  one  person,  instead  therefore  of  the  above 
words,  which  ought  to  be  taken  away  from  the  Athana- 
sian doctrine,  may  be  substituted  the  following:  "  When 
we  acknowledge  the  threefold  principle  or  trinity  in  the 


28 


THE    ATHANASIAX   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


29 


Lord,  it  is  then  in  agreement  with  trutli,  and  thus  with 
the  Christian  faith  and  religion,  that  we  acknowledge 
both  with  the  lips  and  from  the  heart  one  God  and  one 
Lord."  For,  if  we  were  allowed  to  acknowledge  and 
think  of  three,  we  should  be  allowed  also  to  believe  in 
three,  for  belief  or  fliith  belongs  to  thought  and  acknowl- 
edgment, and  hence  to  speech,  and  not  to  speech  separate 
from  thought  and  acknowledgment.  Afterwards  follow 
these  words  :  ''  The  Father  teas  made  of  none^  neither  created 
nor  horn :  the  Son  is  of  the  Father  alone,  not  made,  nor  cre- 
ated, but  born :  the  Holy  Spirit  is  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son, 
not  made^  nor  created,  nor  horn,  hut  proceeding :  Thus 
there  is  one  Father,  not  three  Fathers  ;  one  Son,  not  three 
Sons ;  one  Holy  Spirit,  not  three  Holy  Spirits'^  These 
words  are  quite  in  agreement  with  the  truth,  if  onlj'  for 
the  Father  we  understand  the  Divine  principle  of  the 
Lord  which  is  called  the  Father;  for  the  Son,  his  Divine 
Human  principle;  and  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  Divine 
Proceeding.  For  from  the  Divine  principle,  which  is 
called  the  Father,  was  born  the  Divine  Human  principle, 
which  is  called  the  Son,  and  from  both  proceeds  the  Di- 
vine principle,  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit:  but  of 
the  Divine  Human  principle,  born  of  the  Father,  we  shall 
speak  more  specially  in  what  follows.  From  these  con- 
siderations it  is  now  evident,  that  the  Athanasian  doctrine 
agrees  WMth  the  above  truth,  that  God  is  one  both  in  es- 
sence and  in  person,  provided  that  instead  of  three  per- 
sons there  is  understood  one  person,  in  whom  is  the 
threefold  principle  or  trinity,  which  is  called  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  following  article,  a  similar 
agreement  will  be  established  concerning  the  unity  of 
person  in  the  Lord. 

15.  We  shall  now  proceed  to  the  agreement  of  the 


M 


Athanasian  doctrine   with   this  truth,  that  the  Human 
principle  of  the  Lord  is  divine  by  virtue  of  the  Divine 
principle  which  was  in  Him  from  conception.     That  the 
Human  principle  of  the  Lord  is  divine,  appears,  indeed, 
as  if  it  were  not  grounded  in  the  Athanasian  doctrine, 
but  still  it  is  so,  as  is  evident  from  the  following  words  in 
the  doctrine :   "  Oar  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is 
God  and  Man.      Who  although  God  and  Man,  yet  ihty  are 
not  two  hut  one  Christ ;  one  altogether  by  unity  of  person  (or 
as  others  express  it,  because  they  a^e  one  person) ;  since  as  the 
rational  soul  and  the  body  are  one  man,  so  God  and  Alan  is 
one  Christy     Now,  since  the  soul  and  body  are  one  man, 
and  hence  one  person,  and  the  body  is  of  a  corresponding 
quality  with  the  soul,  it  follows,  that  since  his  soul  from 
the  Father  was  divine,  the  body  which  is  his  Human 
principle,  is  divine  also.     He  had,  indeed,  assumed  a  body 
or  human  principle  from  the  mother,  but  he  put  off  this 
in  the  world,  and  put  on  a  Human  principle  from  the 
Father,  and  this  is  the  Divine  Human.     It  is  said  in  the 
doctrine,  **  Equal  to  the  Father  as  to  the  Divine  {principle), 
inferior  to  the  Father  as  to  the  HumanP     This  also  agrees 
with  the  truth,  if  the  human  principle  from  the  mother 
is  understood,  as  is  the  case  in  this  instance  in  the  creed. 
In  the  doctrine  again  it  is  said :   ^'  God  and  man  is  one 
Christ ;  one,  not  by  conversion  of  the  divine  substance  into  the 
human,  but  by  taking  the  human  substance  into  the  divine: 
one  altogether,  not  by  commixture  of  substance,  hut  by  unity  of 
person^     These  words  again  agree  with  the  truth,  since 
the  soul  does  not  convert  itself  into  body,  nor  commix 
w^ith  body  that  it  ma}^  become  bod}^,  but  it  takes  a  body 
to  itself.     Thus  soul  and  body,  although  they  are  two 
distinct  things,  are  still  one  man  ;    and  with  respect  to 
the  Lord,  they  are  one  Christ,  that  is,  one  Man,  who  is 


A, 


30 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


God.     More  will  be  said  on  the  Divine  Human  principle 
of  the  Lord  in  what  follows. 

16.  It  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  divine  providence  of 
the  Lord  that  all  the  collective  and  several  parts  of  the 
Athanasian  doctrine  concerning  the  trinity  and  the  Lord, 
are  truth  and  agree  with  each  other,  if  only  instead  of 
three  persons  there  is  understood  one  person,  in  whom 
the  trinity  centres,  and  it  is  believed  that  that  person  is 
the  Lord.  For  unless  men  had  accepted  a  trinity  of 
persons,  they  would  at*  that  time  have  become  either 
Arians  or  Socinians,  and  hence  the  Lord  would  have 
been  acknowledged  as  a  mere  man,  and  not  as  God,  by 
frat.iLn"^^*^^^^  means  the  Christian  church  would  have  perished, 
ri,  and  heaven,  so  far  as  the  man  of  the  church  is  concerned, 
would  have  been  closed.  For  no  one  is  conjoined  with 
heaven  and  admitted  there  after  death,"unless  in  the  idea 
of  his  thought  he  sees  God  as  Man,  and  at  the  same  time 
believes  that  God  is  one  both  in  essence  and  in  person — 
by  this  the  heathen  are  saved — and  unless  he  acknow- 
ledges the  Lord,  His  Divine  principleand  Plis  Human— by 
this  the  member  of  the  Christian  church  is  saved,  when 
he  lives  at  the  same  time  a  Christian  life.  It  was  of 
»  divine  permission  that  the  doctrine  concerning  God  and 
.  the  Lord,  which  is  the  primary  doctrine  of  all,  was  so 
conceived  by  Athanasius ;  for  it  was  foreseen  by  the 
Lord,  that  the  Eoman  Catholics  would  not  otherwise  have 
acknowledged  the  Divine  principle  of  the  Lord,  because 
even  to  this  day  they  separate  it  from  his  Human; 
neither  would  the  members  of  the  Eeformed  Church  have 
seen  it  in  the  Human  principle  of  the  Lord,  for  they  who 
are  in  faith  separate  from  charity,  do  not  see  it ;  but  still 
both  of  them  acknowledge  the  Divine  principle  of  the 
Lord  in  a  trinity  of  persons.     Nevertheless,  the  doctrine 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


31 


which  is  called  the  Athanasian  Creed,  was  by  the  divine 
providence  of  the  Lord  so  composed,  that  all  things 
therein  are  truths,  if  only  instead  of  three  persons  one 
person  is  admitted,  in  whom  is  the  trinitj^,  and  it  is 
believed  that  that  person  is  the  Lord.  It  is  also  by  the 
permission  of  providence  that  persons  are  spoken  of,  for 
a  person  is  a  man,  and  a  divine  person  is  God  who  is 
Man.  This  is  revealed  at  this  day  for  the  sake  of  the 
New  Church,  which  is  called  the  Holy  Jerusalem. 

17.  That  there  is  in  the  Lord  the  trinity,  or  threefold 
principle,  the  Divine  Itself  which  is  called  the  Father, 
the  Divine  Human   which   is   called  the  Son,  and  the 
Divine  Proceeding  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  may 
be  manifest  from  the  Word,  from  the  divine  essence,  and 
from  heaven.     From  the  Word:    In   those  passages 
where  the  Lord  Himself  teaches,  that  the  Father  and  He 
are  one,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  Him 
and  from  the  Father ;  where  again  He  teaches,  that  the 
Father  is  in  Him  and  He  in  the  Father,  and  that  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  which  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  does  not  speak 
from  Himself  but  from  the  Lord.     In  like  manner,  from 
passages  in  the  Old  Testament,  where  the  Lord  is  called 
Jehovah,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
From  the  divine  essence  :  From  this  it  appears,  that 
one  Divine  principle  by  itself  is  not  given,  but  there  will 
be  a  threefold  principle,  which  consists  of  esse,  existere, 
and  procedere.     For  the  esse  must  necessarily  exist,  and 
when  it  exists,  it  must  proceed  that  it  may  produce ;  and 
this  threefold  principle  is  one  in  essence  and  in  person, 
and  is  God.     This  maybe  illustrated  by  comparison: 
An  angel  of  heaven  is  threefold  and  thus  one;  the  esse 
of  an  angel  is  that  which  is  called  his  soul,  the  existere  is 
that  which  is  called  his  body,  and  the  procedere  from 


32 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


83 


both  is  that  which  is  called  the  sphere  of  his  life,  without 
which  an  angel  has  neither  existence  nor  being.  By 
means  of  this  threefold  principle  an  angel  is  an  image  of 
God,  and  is  called  a  son  of  God,  and  also  an  heir,  and 
even  a  god ;  nevertheless,  an  angel  is  not  life  from 
himself,  but  a  recipient  of  life,  God  alone  being  life  from 
Himself  From  heaven  :  Because  the  threefold  Divine 
principle,  which  is  one  in  essence  and  in  person,  is  such 
in  heaven ;  for  the  Divine  principle  which  is  called  the 
Father,  and  the  Divine  Human  which  is  called  the  Son, 
appear  there  before  the  angels  as  a  sun,  and  the  Divine 
Proceeding  from  them  appears  as  light  united  to  heat, 
the  light  being  divine  truth,  and  the  heat  divine  good. 
Thus  the  Divine  principle  which  is  called  the  Father,  is 
the  Divine  esse,  the  Divine  Human  which  is  called  the 
Son,  is  the  Divine  existere  from  that  esse,  and  the  Divine 
principle  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  the  Divine 
Proceeding  from  the  divine  existere  and  the  divine  esse. 
This  threefold  principle  is  the  Lord  in  heaven ;  it  is  His 
divine  love  that  appears  there  as  a  sun. 

18.  It  has  been  said,  that  one  Divine  principle  by  itself 
is  not  given,  but  that  it  must  be  threefold,  and  that  this 
threefold  principle  is  one  God  in  essence  and  in  person. 
The  question  then  arises,  what  sort  of  a  threefold  princi- 
ple had  God,  before  the  Lord  assumed  the  Human  prin- 
ciple and  made  it  divine  in  the  world?  God  was  then 
in  like  manner  Man,  and  had  a  Divine  principle,  a  Divine 


w^/^oM  Human,  and  a  Divine  Proceeding;  or  a  divine  esse, 
'  \  a  divine  existere,  and  a  divine  procede^e ;  for,  as  was 
said,  God  without  a  threefold  principle  is  not  given.  But 
the  Divine  Human  was  not  then  divine  even  to  ultimates, 
the  ultimates  being  what  are  called  flesh  and  bones;  but 
these  also  were  made  divine  by  the  Lord,  when  he  was 


in  the  world.  Tt  is  this  that  was  accessory  or  additional, 
and  this  is  the  Divine  Human  that  God  now  has.  The 
subject  again  may  be  illustrated  by  a  comparison :  Every 
angel  is  a  man,  having  a  soul,  a  bod\^,  and  a  proceeding 
principle ;  but  still  he  is  not  thus  a  perfect  man,  for  he 
has  not  flesh  and  bones,  as  a  man  in  the  world  has.  That 
the  Lord  made  his  Human  principle  divine  even  to  its 
ultimates,  which  are  called  flesh  and  bones,  He  Himself 
shows  to  the  disciples,  who  when  they  saw  Him  believed 
that  they  saw  a  spirit,  sa^^ing,  "See  My  hands  and  My 
feet,  that  it  is  I  Myself;  handle  Me  and  see,  for  a  spirit 
hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  Me  have  "  (Luke 
xxiv.  39) ;  from  which  it  follows,  that  God  now  is  Man 
in  a  way  surpassing  the  angels.  Comparison  has  been- 
made  with  an  angel  or  man  ;  it  must,  however,  be  under- 
stood, that  God  is  life  in  Himself,  but  that  an  angel  or 
man  is  not  life  in  himself,  for  he  is  a  recipient  of  life. 
That  the  Lord  as  to  each  principle,  the  Divine  and  the 
Divine  Human,  is  life  in  Himself,  He  teaches  in  John : 
"  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself"  (v.  26) :  by  Father  in 
this  passage  the  Lord  means  the  Divine  principle  in 
Himself;  for  in  other  passages  He  says,  that  "the 
Father  is  in  Him,  and  that  the  Father  and  He  are  one." 

19.  Some  persons  in  the  Christian  world  have  formed 
to  themselves  an  idea  of  God  as  of  the  universe ;  some,  as 
of  nature  in  her  inmost  principles ;  others,  as  of  a  cloud  in 
some  space  of  ether;  some,  as  of  a  bright  ray  of  light; 
while  others  have  formed  no  idea  of  Him  whatever ;  and 
but  few  the  idea  of  God  as  Man,  although  God  is  Man. 
That  Christians  have  formed  to  themselves  such  ideas  of 
God  is  attributable  to  several  causes :  the  first  is,  that  from  * 

their  doctrine  they  believe  in  three  divine  persons  distinct 

2* 


3i 


THE  ATHANA5IAN  CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


35 


from  each  other,  in  the  Father  as  the  invisible  God,  and  in 
the  Lord,  but  as  to  his  Human  principle  not  God.     The 
second  is,  that  they  believe  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they 
think  of  a  spirit  as  of  wind,  or  air,  or  ether,  though  every 
spirit  is  a  man.     The  third  is,  that  Christians,  hi  conse- 
quence   of  their  faith  alone  without  life,  have  become 
worldly,  and   from    their  self-love,    corporeal;  and    the 
worldly  and  corporeal  man  does  not  see  God  except  from 
space,  he  thus  regards  God  as  the  whole  inmost  principle 
in  the  universe,  consequently  as  something  extended.  But 
God  is  not  to  be  seen  from  space ;  for  there  is  no  space  in 
the  spiritual  world,  space  there  being  only  an  appearance 
derived   from  that  which  resembles  it.     Every   sensual 
man  sees  God  in  a  similar  manner,  because  he  thinks  but 
little  above  his  speech,  and  the  thought  of  his  speech 
inwardly  whispers,  "  What  the  eye  sees  and  the  hand 
touches,  this,  I  know,  exists,"  and  banishes    all    other 
considerations,  as  if  they  were  mere  words.     These  are 
the  causes  that  in  the  Christian  world  there  is  no  idea  of 
God  as  Man.     That  there  is  no  such  idea,  that  there  is 
even  a  repugnance  to  it,  will  be  seen,  if  a  man   only 
examines   himself,  and   thinks   of  "the   Divine   Human 
principle,  though  still  the  Human  principle  of  the  Lord 
is  divine.     The  above  ideas  of  God,  however,  do   not 
belong  so  much  to  the  simple,  as  to  the  intelligent,  for 
many  of  the  latter  are  blinded  by  the  conceit  of  tlieir'own 
intelligence,  and  are  hence  infatuated  by  their  knowledge, 
according  to  the  Lord's  words  (Matthew  xi.  25  ;  xiii.  13,' 
14,  15).     But  they  should  know,  that  all  who  see  God  as 
Man  see  Him  from  the  Lord,  all  others  from  themselves; 
and  they  who  see  from  themselves,  have  no  true  vision. 

20.  But  I  will  relate  what  cannot  but  appear  wonder- 
ful :  Every  man  in  the  idea  of  his  spirit  sees  God  as  Man, 


even  he  w^ho  in  the  idea  of  his  body  sees  him  as  a  cloud 
or  mist,  as  air  or  ether,  and  who  has  denied  that  God  is 
Man  ;  for  man  is  in  the  idea  of  his  spirit  when  he  thinks 
abstractedly,  and  in  the  idea  of  his  body  when  he  does 
not  think  abstractedly.  That  every  man  in  the  idea  of 
his  spirit  sees  God  as  Man,  has  been  made  evident  to  me 
from  men  after  death,  who  are  then  in  the  ideas  of  the 
spirit.  For  men  after  death  become  spirits,  in  which  case 
it  is  impossible  for  them  to  think  of  God  otherwise  than 
as  of  Man.  The  experiment  was  made  whether  they 
could  think  otherwise,  and  for  this  purpose  they  were  put 
into  the  state  in  which  they  were  in  the  world,  and  then 
they  thought  of  God,  some  as  of  the  universe,  others  as  of 
nature  in  her  inmost  principles,  some  as  of  a  cloud  in  the 
midst  of  ether,  others  as  of  a  bright  ray  of  light,  and  some 
again  differently.  But  when  they  came  out  of  that  state 
into  the  state  of  the  spirit,  they  instantly  thought  of  God 
as  Man  ;  at  which  even  they  themselves  wondered,  and 
said  tliat  i^  w;as  implanted  i^  every  spirit.  But  evil 
spirits,  who  in  the  world  denied  God,  deny  Ilim  also 
after  death,  nevertheless  instead  of  God  they  worship 
some  spirit,  who,  by  means  of  diabolical  arts,  gains 
ascendency  over  the  rest.  It  was  said,  that  to  think  of 
God  as  Man  is  implanted  in  every  spirit,  and  that  it  is 
effected  by  an  influx  of  the  Lord  into  the  interior  of  the 
spirit^s  thoughts,  is  evident  from  the  following:  The 
angels  of  all  the  heavens  acknowledge  the  Lord  alone  ; 
they  acknowledge  his  Divine  principle  which  is  called 
the  Father,  they  see  his  Divine  Human  principle,  and 
they  are  in  the  Divine  Proceeding,  for  the  universal 
angelic  heaven  is  the  Divine  Proceeding  of  the  Lord. 
An  angel  is  not  an  angel  from  anything  of  his  own,  but 
from  the  Divine  principle  which  he  receives  from   the 


36 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN    CREED. 


37 


Lord ;  hence  the  angels  are  iQ  the  Lord,  and  therefore, 
when  they  think  of  God,  they  cannot  think  of  any  other 
than  of  the  Lord,  in  whom  they  are,  and  from  whom  they 
think..  Besides  this,  the  universal  angelic  heaven  is  in 
its  complex  before  the  Lord  as  one  Man,  who  may  be 
called  the  Grand  Man  ;  wherefore  the  angels  in  lieaven 
are  in  the  Man,  who  i^s,  as  \vas  sai_d,  the  Divine  Proceed- 
^]1S  2I  ^i^  Lord.  And  since  their  thoughts  have  a 
direcUon  according  to  the  form  of  heaven,  therefore  when 
they  think  of  God,  they  cannot  think  otherwise  than  of 
the  Lord.  In  a  word,  all  the  angels  of  the  three  heavens 
think  of  God  as  of  Man,  nor  can  they  think  otherwise,  for 
if  they  w^ere  disposed  to  do  so,  thought  would  cease,  and 
they  would  foil  from  heaven.  Hence  then  it  is,  that  it  is 
implanted  in  every  spirit,  and  also  in  every  man,  when  he 
is  in  the  idea  of  his  spirit,  to  think  of  God  as  Man. 

21.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this  implanted  principle, 
that  the  most  ancient  people,  to  a  greater  degree  than 
their  posterity,  worshipped  God  as  visible  under  a  human 
form.  That  they  also  saw  God  as  Man,  the  Word  tes- 
tifies, as  of  Adam,  that  he  heard  the  voice  of  Jehovah 
walking  in  the  garden  ;  of  Moses,  that  he  spake  with 
Jehovah  face  to  face;  of  Abraham,  that  he  saw  Jehovah 
in  the  midst  of  three  angels ;  and  that  Lot  spoke  with 
two  of  them.  Jehovah  was  also  seen  as  Man  by  Hagar, 
by  Gideon,  by  Joshua,  by  Daniel  as  the  Ancient  of  Days, 
and  as  the  Son  of  Man.  In  like  manner.  He  was  seen 
by  John,  as  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  midst  of  the  seven 
candlesticks,  and  also  by  the  other  prophets.  That  it 
was  the  Lord  who  was  seen  by  them,  He  himself  teaches 
where  He  savs  "  That  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  His  day, 
and  that  he  saw  it  and  was  glad  "  (John  viii.  56) :  also, 
•"  That  He  was  before  Abraham  was ''  (ver.  58) :  "  and 


that  He  was  before  the  world  was  "  (John  xvii.  5,  24). 
The  reason  that  it  was  not  the  Father  but  the  Son,  who 
was  seen,  is,  because  the  Divine  Esse,  which  is  the 
Father,  cannot  be  seen  except  through  the  Divine  Exis- 
tere,  which  is  the  Divine  Human  principle.  That  the 
Divine  Esse,  which  is  called  the  Father,  was  not  seen, 
the  Lord  also  teaches  in  John :  "  The  Father  Himself 
who  hath  sent  Me,  He  hath  borne  witness  of  Me ;  ye 
have  neither  heard  His  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen  His 
shape  "  (ver.  37) :  again  :  "  Not  that  any  one  hath  seen 
the  Father,  save  He  who  is  of  God,  He  hath  seen  the 
Father  "  (vi.  46) :  and  again  :  "  No  one  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time,  the  only  begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  He  hath  brought  Him  forth  to  view" 
(i.  18).  From  these  passages  it  is  evident  that  the  Divine 
Esse,  which  is  the  Father,  was  not  seen  by  the  ancients, 
nor  could  be  seen,  and  yet  that  it  was  seen  by  means  of 
the  Divine  Existere,  which  is  the  Son.  Because  the  esse 
is  in  its  existere,  as  the  soul  is  in  its  body,  therefore  he 
who  sees  the  Divine  Existere  or  Son,  sees  also  the  Divine 
Esse  or  Father,  which  the  Lord  confirms  in  these  words: 
*'  Philip  said.  Lord,  show  us  the  Father:  Jesus  said  unto 
him.  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  hast  thou 
not  known  Me,  Philip  ?  he  who  hath  seen  Me,  hath  seen 
the  Father  ;  how  sayest  thou  then.  Show  us  the  Father?  " 
(John  xiv.  8,  9).  From  these  words  it  is  plain,  that  the 
Lord  is  the  Divine  Existere,  in  which  is  the  Divine  Esse  ; 
thus  that  He  is  the  God-Man,  who  was  seen  by  the  bS.  W 
ancients.  From  what  has  been  adduced  it  follows  that  i^ 
the  Word  is  also  to  be  understood  according  to  the  sense  ^^  siuo' 
of  the  letter,  when  it  says  that  God  has  a  face,  that  He  ^^^ 

has  eyes  and  ears,  and  that  He  has  hands  and  feet.  rs^S"^ 

22.  Since  the  idea  of  God  as  Man  is  implanted  in  every       ^  70 


38 


THE   ATIIANASIAX   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


39 


one,  therefore  several  peoples  and  nations  have  worshipped 
as  gods  those  who  were  either  men  or  appeared  to  them 
as  men;  as  Greece,  Italy,  and  some  kingdoms  under 
their  power,  woi-shipped  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Neptune,  Pluto, 
Apollo,  Mercury,  Juno,  Minerva,  Diana,  Venus  and 
her  son,  and  others,  ascribing  to  them  the  government 
of  the  universe.  The  reason  that  they  distributed  the 
Divinity  into  so  many  persons  was,  that  it  was  from  a 
principle  implanted  in  them  that  they  saw  God  as  Man, 
and  therefore  saw  all  the  attributes,  properties,  and 
qualities  of  God,  thence  also  the  virtues,  affections, 
inclinations,  and  sciences,  as  persons.  It  was  from  this 
implanted  principle  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  lands 
round  about  Canaan,  and  likewise  of  the  regions  within 
it,  worshipped  Baalim,  Astoroth,  Beelzebub,  Chemosh, 
Milcolra,  Molech,  and  others,  several  of  whom  had  lived 
as  men.  It  is  again  from  this  implanted  principle  that 
at  this  day,  in  the  heathenism  of  the  Christian  world, 
saints  are  worshipped  as  gods,  men  kneeling  before  their 
statues  and  embracing  them,  baring  their  heads  before 
them  in  the  roads  where  they  are  set  up,  and  offering 
them  adoration  at  their  tombs,  doing  this  even  in  the 
case  of  the  Pope,  whose  very  shoes  they  press  with  their 
lips,  some  of  them  even  kissing  his  footsteps,  and  he  would 
too  have  been  saluted  as  a  god,  if  religion  had  allowed 
it.  These  and  several  other  practices  arise  from  this 
implanted  principle,  that  men  naturally  wish  to  worship 
a  God  whom  they  see,  and  not  an  airy  something,  which 
they  regard  as  mere  vapor.  But  the  idea  of  God  as  Man, 
which  flows  into  the  mind  from  heaven,  is  with  many 
so  far  perverted  that  either  an  ordinary  man  or  an  idol 
is  w^orshipped  instead  of  God  ;  just  as  the  bright  light  of 
the  sun  is  turned  into  unseemly  colors,  and  his  summer 


heat  into  offensive  odors,  according  to  the  objects  upon 
w^hich  thev  fall.  But  it  is  from  the  causes  above  ad- 
duced,  that  the  idea  of  God  becomes  the  idea  of  a  little 
cloud,  of  a  mist,  or  of  the  inmost  principle  of  nature; 
it  exists  amongst  Christians,  but  rarely  amongst  other 
nations  who  enjoy  any  light  of  reason,  as  amongst  the 
i^Tfricans  and  some  others. 

23.  That  God  is  Man  and  that  the  Lord  is  that  Man, 
is  manifest  from  all  things  which  are  in  the  heavens,  and 
which  are  beneath  the  heavens.  In  the  heavens,  all 
things  which  proceed  from  the  Lord,  in  their  greatest 
and  in  their  smallest  parts,  are  either  in  a  human  form, 
or  have  reference  to  it.  The  universal  heaven  is  in  a 
human  form,  so  also  is  every  society  of  heaven,  every 
angel  is  so,  and  every  spirit  beneath  the  heavens.  It 
has  also  been  revealed  to  me  that  all  things  both  least 
and  greatest,  which  proceed  immediately  from  the  Lord, 
are  in  that  form;  for  what  proceeds  from  God  is  a 
resemblance  of  Him.  Hence  it  is,  that  it  is  said  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  that  they  were  "created  into  the  image  and 
likeness  of  God."  (Gen.  i.  26,  27.)  Hence  also  it  is, 
that  the  angels  in  the  heavens,  because  they  are  recipients 
of  the  Divine  principle  which  proceeds  from  the  Jiord, 
are  men  of  astonishing  beauty  ;  whereas  the  spirits  in 
the  hells,  because  they  do  not  receive  the  Divine  prin- 
ciple which  proceeds  from  the  Lord,  are  devils,  who  in 
the  light  of  heaven,  do  not  appear  as  men,  but  as  mon- 
sters. It  i  sowing  to  this  circumstance  that  every  one  in 
the  spiritual  world  is  known  from  his  human  form,  which 
is  in  proportion  to  his  derivation  from  the  Lord.  Hence 
then  it  may  be  manifest,  that  the  Lord  is  the  on]y  Man, 
and  that  every  onejs_a  man  according  to  the  reception 
of  divine  good  and  diyjne  truth,  from  HijD.     In  fine,  he 


/  ^ 


r 


40 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


7 


who  sees  God  as  Man,  sees  God,  because  he  sees  the 
Lord.  The  Lord  also  says,  **  lie  who  seeth  the  Son,  and 
believeth  in  Him,  hath  eternal  life"  (John  vi.  40) ;  to 
see  the  Son  is  to  see  Him  with  the  spirit,  because  it  is 
said  also  with  reo:ard  to  those  who  have  not  seen  Him  in 
the  world. 

24.  It  was  said  that  the  Lord  is  the  only  Man,  and 
that  all  are  men  according  to  the  reception  of  the  divine 
good  and  the  divine  truth  from  Him.  The  reason  that 
the  Lord  is  the  only  Man  is,  that  He  is  A&  life  itself; 
but  all  other  men,  because  they  are  men  from  Him,  are 
recipients  of  life.  The  distinction  between  the  Man  who 
is  life,  and  the  man  who  is  a  recipient  of  life,  is  like  that 
which  subsists  between  the  Uncreate  and  that  which  is 
created,  and  between  the  Infinite  and  the  finite,  which 
^.^.  i-Z'^.distinction  is  such  that  it  admits  of  no  ratio.  For  there 
is  no  ratio  given  between  the  Infinite  and  the  finite, 
thus  there  is  no  ratio  between  God  as  Man,  and  another 
being  as  a  man,  whether  he  is  an  angel  or  a  spirit,  or  a 
man  in  the  world.  That  the  Lord  is  life,  He  himself 
teaches  in  John  :  "  The  Word  was  with  God,  and  God 
was  the  "Word,  in  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men,  and  the  Word  was  made  flesh  "  (i.  1,  4,  14) ; 
again :  "  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath 
He  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself"  (v.  26); 
again  :  "  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  Me,  and  I  live 
by  the  Father  "  (vi.  57) ;  again  :  "  I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life  "  (xi.  25) ;  again  :  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth, 
and  the  life"  (xiv.  6).  Inasmuch  as  the  Lord  is  life, 
therefore,  in  other  passages  of  the  AYord,  He  is  called 
the  Bread  of  Life,  the  Light  of  Life,  and  the  Tree  of  Life  ; 
also,  the  Alive  and  Living  God.  Since  He  is  life,  and 
every  man  is  a  recipient  of  life  from  Him,  therefore  He 


THE   ATHAJN ASIAN   CREED. 


41 


also  teaches  that  He  gives  life  and  quickens ;  as  in  John  : 
''  As  the  Father  quickeneth,  so  also  the  Son  quickeneth  " 
(v.  21) ;  again  :  ''  I  am  the  bread  of  God  which  cometh 
down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  to  the  world  "  (vi.  33) ; 
again:  '^ Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also"  (xiv.  19); 
and  in  many  passages,  that  He  giveth  life  to  those  who 
believe  in  Him:  hence  also  God  is  called  "a  Fountain 
of  Life"  (Psalm  xxxvi.  9);  and  in  other  places,  Creator^ 
Maker,  Former,  and  Potter,  and  we  the  clay,  and  the  work 
of  His  hands.  Because  God  is  life,  it  follows  that  in 
Hiin  ive  live,  move,  and  have  our  heing, 

25.  Life  viewed  in  itself,  which  is  God,  cannot  create  o 
another  being  that  shall  be  life  itself;  for  the  life  which 
is  God  is  uncreate,  continuous,  and  inseparable;  hence 
it  is  that  God  is  one.  But  the  life  which  is  God  can 
create,  out  of  substances  which  are  not  life,  forms  in 
which  it  can  exist,  giving  them  the  appearance  as  if  they 
lived.  Men  are  such  forms,  which,  as  being  receptacles 
of  life,  could  not  in  the  first  creation  be  anything  but 
images  and  likenesses  of  God  ;  images  from  the  reception 
of  truth,  and  likenesses  from  the  reception  of  good.  For  8"^i 
life  and  its  recipient  adapt  themselves  to  each  other,  like 
active  and  passive,  but  do  not  mix  together.  Hence  it  is 
that  human  forms  which  are  recipient  of  life,  do  not  live 
from  themselves,  but  from  God  who  alone  is  life;  where- 
fore, as  is  well  known,  all  the  good  of  love  and  all  the 
truth  of  faith  are  from  God,  and  nothing  from  man.  For 
if  man  had  the  smallest  portion  of  life  as  his  own,  he 
would  have  been  able  to  will  and  to  do  good  from  him- 
self, to  understand  also  and  to  believe  truth  from 
himself,  and  thus  to  claim  merit;  when  yet,  if  he  be- 
lieves this,  the  form  recipient  of  life  then  closes  itself 
above,  is  perverted,  and  intelligence  perishes.     Good  and 


3if 


-  r^ 


n 


42 


THE   ATIIANASIAN  CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


43 


Its  love  together  with  truth  and  its  faith  are  the  life 

/,-      ^  m  ^'""''  '^  ^"'^'  ^""^  ^""^  '^  g'^O'i  'tself  and  truth   itself: 
(T. J.. /^^^  wherefore   God    dwells  in  those  principles  with    man. 

/tL   L  4./  ^.'■""^  ^^^^^  considerations  it  also  follows  that  man  of 

M./f.  /i      himself  is  nothing,  and  that  he  is  just  so  much  as  he 

/v J      receives  from  the  Lord,  and  at  the  same  time  acknow- 

Ar   Ox^X^   ^"^^^  *'''''*  ^^^^  ^^  receives  is  not  his  own  but  the 

'/otU-  ^"'■'^'^ '  ^^^  ^"""^  ^''^^^   ^'''"'"es   '"'"   to   be   something, 
/ot  i-/    although  not  from  hnnself  but  from  the  Lord. 

/o,%-y       26.  It  appears  to  man  as  if  he  lived  from  himself,  but 

it  is  a  fallacy;  for  if  it  were  not  a  fallacy,  man  would 

have  been  able  to  love  God  from  himself,  and  to  be  wise 

from  himself.     The  reason  that  it  appears  as  if  life  were 

m  man  is,  that  it  enters  by  influx  from  the  Lord  into  his 

inmost  principles,  which  are  remote  from  the  sight  of  his 

thought,  and  thus  from  perception  ;  and  further  that  the 

pnncipal  cause  which  is  life,  and  the  instrumental  cause 

which  IS  recipient  of  life,  act  together  as  one  cause,  and 

this  action  is  felt  in  the  instrumental  cause,  and  thus  in 

man  as  if  it  were  in  himself.     The  case  in  this  respect  is 

precisely  similar  to  the  sensation  that  light  is  in  the  eye 

and  gives  birth  to  sight;  that  sound  is  in  the  ear,  and 

gives  birth  to  hearing;  that  the  volatile  parts  in  the  air 

are  m  the  nostril,  and  give  birth  to  smell ;   and  that  the 

particles  of  food  turning  over  upon  the  tongue  give  birth 

to  taste ;  when  yet  the  eyes,  the  cars,  the  nostrils,  and  the 

tongue  are  recipient  organized  substances,  thus  instru- 

.  mental  causes;  whilst  light,  sound,  the  volatile  parti- 

cles  in  the  air,  and  the  particles  turning  over  upon  the 

tongue,  are  the  principal  causes  ;    and  these  causes— 

the  instrumental  and  the  principal-act  together  as  one 

cause.     That  is  called  principal  which   acts,  and  that 

instrumental  which  suffers  itself  to  be  acted  upon.     He 


who  examines  the  subject  more  deeply,  may  know  that 
man,  as  to  all  the  collective  and  single  things  that  belong 
to  him,  is  an  organ  of  life,  and  that  that  which  produces 
sensation  and  perception  enters  by  influx  from  an  extra- 
neous source,  and  that  it  is  the  life  itself  which  causes 
man  to  feel  and  perceive  as  if  from  himself.  Another 
reason  that  it  appears  as  if  life  were  in  man  is,  that  the 
divine  love  is  such,  that  it  desires  to  communicate  to  man 
that  which  belongs  to  itself,  but  still  it  teaches  that  it  is 
not  man's  own.  The  Lord  also  wills  that  man  should 
think  and  will,  and  thence  should  speak  and  act,  as  if 
from  himself",  but  that  still  he  should  acknowledge  that 
it  is  not  from  himself,  otherwise  he  cannot  be  reformed. 

27.  If  it  is  said  and  thought  that  life  itself  is  God,  or 
that  God  is  life  itself,  and  there  is  at  the  same  time  no 
idea  of  what  life  is,  there  is  in  that  case,  no  intelligence 
of  what  God  is,  beyond  those  expressions.  In  tlie 
thought  of  man  there  are  two  ideas,  one  abstract,  which 
is  spiritual,  and  one  not  abstract,  which  is  natural.  The 
abstract  idea,  which  is  spiritual,  concerning  the  life 
which  is  God  is,  that  it  is  love  itself,  and  that  it  is  wis- 
dom itself,  and  that  the  love  is  from  wisdom,  and  the 
wisdom  from  love.  But  the  idea  not  abstract,  which  is 
natural,  concerning  the  life  which  is  God  is,  that  His 
love  is  as  fire,  and  His  wisdom  as  light,  and  that  the 
two  together  are  as  a  bright  radiance.  This  natural  idea 
is  derived  from  correspondence,  for  fire  corresponds  to 
love,  and  light  corresponds  to  wisdom;  and  therefore  in 
the  Word  fire  signifies  love,  and  light  signifies  wisdom. 
When  again  a  sermon  is  preached  from  the  Word,  there 
is  also  prayer  offered  up  that  heavenly  fire  may  warm 
the  heart,  in  which  case  is  meant  the  divine  love;  and 
that  heavenly  light  may  enlighten  the  mind,  in  which 


n 


4i 


»r 


THE   ATIIANASIAN   CUKKl). 


CISC   is    inr;iiit.    the    divino   wi.sduin.      Tlio   divin-'    l<>vo 
\vliich  in  the  divine  wisdi^ni   is  lilb  itseli;  wliirli  is  (iod, 
cannot  be  conceived  ol' in  its  essence,  (or  it  is  inlinitr', 
and    tlius  transeends  Innnim  appivlicnsion ;   Ihii    it    rnav 
l)e  conceived  of  in   its  Mppc-uanee.     The    I/»rd   apjr-u.s 
before  the  eyes  of  the  ang^ds  as  a  sun,  from  wliirh   pn^ 
ceed  Iicat  and  light;  the  sun  is  the  divine  love,  th.^  heat 
is  the  divine  love  proc(»edin;j:,  whieh   is  call.-d  thr  divine* 
i^^^^^(\  and    the    light  is  the  divincj   wisdom   proeecdinf^ 
^vllich  is  called  the  divine  truth.     JJut  still  v.-e*  a?-e  not 
permitted  to  have  an  idea  of  the  life  whieh  is  (iod,as  of 
firo,  or  heat,  or  light,  unless  there   is   in    it   at    tin;   same 
time  an  idea  ol*  love  and  wisdom,  thus  that  the  divine 
love  is  as  fire,  and  that  tlie  divine  wisdom  is  as  light,  and 
that  the  divine  love  together  with   the  diviru*  v/isdom  is 
as  a  blight  radiance.     For  (jod    is   perfect    Man,  in    face 
and  in  body  like  Man,  there  being  no  dilll-renc^c  as  to 
form,  but  as  to  essence.     His  essence  is,  that  lie  is  love 
itsdf  and  wisdom  itself,  thus  lile  itself. 

28.   AVe  can  have  no  idea  of  th(!  life  wliirh   ]<  (iod, 
unless  we  also  obtain  an    i<lea  of  the  degn.vs  through 
-which   life  <lescends  from   its   inmost   j)rincipl'»s    to    its 
ultimatcs.     Tlu.'re  is  an  inmost  degree  of  lifi-,  and  thi-re 
is  an  ultimate  degree  of  life,  and  there  are  inteim«^diate 
degrees  of  it.     The  distinction  between  them  is  like  that 
between  tilings  prior  and  posterior,  tor  a  posterior  d«\L^reo 
exists   from   a  ]>rior,  and   so    forth;    and    the  dill' r,  i!.'(» 
between  them  is  like  that  between  things  Irss  and   m'Te 
common,  for  what  is  of  a  pi'ior  ih-grce,  is  less  common, 
and  what  is  of  a  posterior  degree,  is  more  so.     Such  de- 
grees of  life  are  in  (^VQvy  man  from  creation,  and  ih.-v 
arc  opened  according  to  his  reception  of  lif..'  from  the 
Lord;  in  some  men  the  degree  next  to  the  ultimate  is 


puvq  sii{}  ddOUidJ  JOU  OQ 


i 


r 


TtIK    ATil  AN  ASIAN   CIUCF.I). 


45 


open.Hl,  in   some   the   middle   degree,  an<l   in   some  the 
inmost.'    The  men  in  whom  the  inmost  degree*  isopencil, 
become  aftr^r  d-atli  angels  of  the  inmost  or  third  heaven  ; 
those  in  whom  the  middle  d.-giee  is  opened,  become  after 
death  angels  .»f  tiie  mi«Mle  <u-  seeofid  heaven;   but  those 
in  whom  th- d-'gree  nr^xt  to  tlie,  ultimate,  is  ojiemMl,  be- 
come after  deMth  angels  of  the  ultimate  heaven.     These 
degre.  s   are   eallr.!   tli"  degiv.'.^  of  the   life   of  man,   but 
theV  are  tln^   degrees   of  his   wisdom  and    love,  heeauso 
they  are  opened   acconbng  to   his  reception  of  wisdom 
and  love,  thus  of  life  from  the  Lord.     Such  degrees  of 
life   are  also  in  every  organ,  in  each  of  the  vi^^ccra  and 
members  of  the  body,  and  they  act  in  unity  with  the 
degrees  of  life   in    the   l)rains  by  means  of  influx;  the 
skbis,  the  eartilages,  and    tlie  bon-'S,  constituting   their 
ultimate  degr.'t\    The  reason  that  there  are  such  degrees 
in  man  is.^'that  such  are  the  degrees  of  the  life  which 
l^roceeds  from  the  Lord ;  but  in  the  Lord  they  are  life, 
whnreas  in   man  they  ani  recipients  of  life.     It  should 
however  l)e  known   that  in    the.  Lr»rd    there  are  degrees 
still  hiudHT.  and  that  all   of  them    both    tln^   highest  and 
the  ultnnate  are  life,  for  the  Lord  teaches  that  He  is  the 
life,  and  likewise*  that  He  has  flesh  and  bones,     l^ut  con- 
cerning these  degrees,  and  concerning  coTitinuous  degrecH, 
sec  tlic  work  on  Ifcaren  anff  ll''fl,  ii-  3:^,  34,  o8,  30,  20S, 
209.  211,  425,  where  they  are  more  fully  described;  a 
kn(»wledg,r' of  them  should  be  drawn   from   this  source, 
on  aeeount  of  its   use  in  v/hat  follows. 

20.  Because  (iod  is  life,  it  follows  that  he  is  uncreated; 
the  reason  that  he  is  uncreated  is,  that  life  cannot  be 
ereated,  although  it  can  create.  For  to  be  created  is  to 
exist  from  rtiioilier,  ami  iMife  exislcd  from  anollior,  llicrc 
xvoiild  be  anolluT  being  lliat  wuuM  be  liff,  and  ihw  life 


Hi 


ft  11 

J 11 


4 

:  \ 


t  > 


1 

f 


n 


■n 
■i 

i-4 

i 

■•i 
"1 


tj 


H 


^ 


46 


THE    ATIIAXASIAN   CREI-I). 


would  1)0  life  ill  itself.     And  if  this  first  being  wcro  not 
life  in   itself,  it  would  be  citlicr  from  another  being  or 
from   itself,   and   life   irom   itself  cannot  be   i^redie^te^d, 
because  from  itself  involves  origin,  and  this  origin  would 
bo  from  nothing,  and  from  nothing  nothifig  originates. 
This  first  Being,  who  is  underived  being  in  llim^rlf,  and 
tiio  source  from  whom  all  things  were  created,   is  ('rod, 
wdio,  from  underived  being  in  ifimself,  is  called  .Irhovah! 
LVason,  (\sp,r,ially  if  it  is  enlightened  by  means  of  created 
objects,  is  able   to  sec  that   the  case  is  so.     Xo^.v  since 
underived  being  is  not  underived  being  unless  it  is  also 
self-cxisient,  hence  esse  and  existcre  in  (iod  arc  one;    (br 
^^dlilc  lie  is  underived  being,  lie  is  self  existent,  and  while 
He  is  self-existent,  He  is  underived  being.     This  there- 
fore—the union  of  the  c.<se  with  the  existcre— Is  the  life  it- 
sel^f;  or^the  essential  life,  which  is  God,  and  which  is  .Aran. 
o<>.  That  all  things  derive  their  being  from  (he  life  it- 
self which  is  God,  and  which  is  Mnu,  mav  Ijc  illustrated 
from  man  who  w.'is  created;   he  being  a  m.-in  as  to  his 
^iJ^iuiatr,  Ids  middle,  and  his  inmost  prinriph-s.      F,,r  the 
man,   who  in  the  world  was  merely  corporeal  as  to  his 
life,  thus,  of  dull  perceptions,  appears  still  in  the  spiritual 
world,  alter  the  rejection  of  the  material  bodv,  ns  a  man. 
Tiie  man,  who  in  the  world  was  merely  sensual  or  natural 
as  to  his  life,  thus  who  knew  little  about  hi^avrn,  although 
inuch  aijout  the  world,  still  appears  after  death  as  a  mmi. 
The  man  who  in  the  world  was  rntlonal  as  to  his  lif;>,  thus 
who  tiiought  well  from  natural  light,  .'ippears  after  dmth 
when   he  becomes  a  spirit,  as  a  man.     The  man  who  iii 
the  world  was  spiritual  as  to  his  lile,  appears  alter  d.^ath, 
when  ho  becomes  an  angel,  as  a  man,  i)erfect  accordinc^ 
to  his  reception  of  life  from  the  Lord.     The  man,   with 
wh.;iii   Ihe  third  degree  was  op.Mx.l,   lh„s  who    in    the 


I 


THE   ATHANASIAX    CREED. 


47 


world  was  celestial  as  to  his  liR;,  a])pears  after  death, 
when  he  becomes  an  ang<d,  as  a  man  in  all  jMU'iection. 
The  very  life  Ixdonging  to  him  is  a  man,  both  the  sensual 
and  the  natural,  as  v/eli  as  ihc;  I'ational,  tin;  spirittial,  and 
lh(*.  ceh\^tiab  f  )r  so  the  degrees  of  life  are  ealled  ;  but  the 
man,  in  ^vhom  tliev  exist,  is  only  a  rcM'ipient.  And  as  it 
is  in  the  smallest  types,  so  it  is  in  the  greatest.  The 
univeisal  angdic  heaven  is  in  (n'ery  complex  a  man  ; 
each  heaven  bv  itself,  the  lirsl,  the  second,  and  third,  is  a 
man  ;  every  society  in  the  heavens,  greater  or  less,  is  a 
man  ;  even  the  chuich  in  the  world  in  general  is  a  man  ; 
all  conurcLrations  also  which  ai'c-  called  churcJies,  art-  by 
themselves,  men.  ]iy  the  church  are  meant  all  lu'Ui  with 
whom  the  church  is,  in  the  c(>mj>lex:  so  the  church  in 
the  world  ap])rMirs  to  th(^  angels  of  h(\aven,  and  the  ground 
of  this  a])])earance  is,  that  the  life  which  is  from  the  J.ord 
is  a  man.  Life  from  the  Lord  is  love  and  wisdom  ;  hence 
sucli  as  is  the  i"ece])tion  of  love  and  wisdom  from  the 
liord,  such  is  the  man.  These  things  fnst  testify,  that  all 
lliiii'/s  were  cicatcd  (rom  th(i  life  which  isG(^d,  and  wlii<:h 
is  .Man. 

3L  That  all  thimis  aie  from  the  lite  itself,  which  is 
God,  and  which  is  wisdom  mid  love,  may  also  he  illus- 
tr.ated  ])y  means  of  create<l  objects,  when  they  are  viewed 
from  tM'der.  For  it  is  from  oi'der  that  the  angelic 
heavens,  consistinu  of  thousands  and  thousands  of 
societies,  a(*t  in  unity,  by  iiK^ans  of  love  1o  tin;  Lord  and 
towards  the  iKMghbor,  and  that  they  are  kept  in  oi'd<.'r  by 
means  of  divine  truths,  which  arc  the  laws  of  order.  It 
is  aiiain  from  order  that  the  hells  beneath  them,  which 
are  also  distinguished  into  thousands  and  thousands  of 
comrresrations,  arc  k'cnt  in  oidcr  by  means  of  judLMriCnts 
and  punishments;  so  tliat  although  they  are  hatreds  and 


Jjuui^  siqj  BAOUIBJ  JOU  OQ 


■      -it     ■ 

V  ^,  ! 

'  v    1 


U 


li 


*■• 


*5;- 


43 


'I'llK    ATIIANASIAX    CIIKKD. 


insnnilics,  still  tlii^y  (*annot  occasion  the  least  mischief  to 
the  heavens.  It  is  also  from  ortlcr,  that  there  is  betwecMi 
the  heavens  and  tlu^.  hells  the  (Tinihhriuni,  in  which  man 
is  in  the  world,  and  in  which  he  is  led,  if  bv  the  Lord,  t<) 
heaven,  if  by  himself,  to  lu^ll  ;  for  it  is  a  law  of  ord^jr, 
that  mail  shall  act,  in  all  thai  he  does,  from  freedom 
according-  to  reason.  Since  so  many  myriads  of  myriads 
of  men,  (rom  the  ('i(\tl!i)n  of  the  world,  have  bcrn  jjonrin-^ 
in  both  to  heaven  and  hell,  and  ai'c  jx^rpetuall}'  pouring  in 
streams,  each  individual  too  beini;-  of  a  dissimilar  genius 
and  love,  it  would  have  been  uttei'ly  impossible  for  them 
to  be  consociated  together  into  on(^,  unless  God  were  one, 
Avho  is  life  itself,  which  life  is  wisdom  itself  and  love 
itself,  and  thence  oixlcr  itself.  These  observations  have 
been  made  respecting  heaven.  But  in  the  natural  world 
the  divine  order  is  apparent  from  the  sun,  the  moon,  the 
stars,  and  the  jdanets.  The  sun,  to  appearance,  causes 
years,  days,  and  hours,  the  seasons  of  the  year  also,  which 
are  spi'ing,  summiu',  antinnn,  and  winUn*;  the  divisions 
again  of  the  dav,  wdiieh  are  morninir,  noon,  evenin'^  and 
ni^ht.  lie  animates  all  thin^-s  of  the  earth,  accordinu:  to 
the  reception  of  his  heat  in  conjunction  with  his  light,  and 
of  liis  li^ht  in  cv)niunction  with  his  heat.  A(;cordin"'  in 
his  rece})tion  he  also  opens,  disposes,  and  pre|)ares  the 
living  b(jdies  and  the  material  substances,  which  are  in 
and  \\V)i)]\  tiie  earth,  to  receive  influx  from  the  spiritual 
world.  Hence,  in  the  tiuK^,  of  spring,  through  the  nnion 
of  heat  and  li<jht,  th(;  Ibwls  of  heaven  and  the  beasts  of 
the  earth  return  to  the  love  of  propagating  tluur  s{)eci(V>:j 
and  to  the  knowledLje  of  all  thinus  bel()niiin<>-  to  it.  The 
vegetables  too  retui'u  to  their  ellbrts  and  aetiviti'\s  in 
producing  leaves,  ilowers,  and  fruits,  and  in  them  the 
seeds  for  perpetuating  their  kind  forever  and  multiplying 


yuuq  sjl{j  dAOlUdJ  JOU  OQ 


I- 


— T^TPTTfT^ 


THE   ATIIAXASIAN    CUKKD. 


49 


it    to  infmity.       It  is  from    order  again   that    the  earth 
produces  vegetables,  and   that  these  snpply  the  animals 
with  sustenance,   while  l)<>th  the  one  and  the  other  yield 
for  the  use  of  uian,  food,  clothing,  and   pleasure;     and 
since  man  is  the  creatures  in  whom  (jod  dwells,  they  m 
this    wav    return    to    Ood,    from   whom    all    things  thus^ 
proceed^     Kiom    these  considerations   it  is  (evident,   tlcit 
creat<'d  thin-s  succeed  each  other  in  such  order,  that  on(i 
exists   for  the  sake  of  another;    th.it   they  an-   ])eipelu:d 
ends  which  are  uses,  and  that  ends  which  are  uses  are  in 
constant  circulation,  that  they  may  return  to  God  from 
whom  they  d<;rive  their  being.     These  things  then  testily 
that  all  things  were  created  from  the  life  itself,  which  is 
God,  an.l  wliich  is  wisdom  it.self ;  and  they  further  testify 
that  the  universe  of  creation  is  full  of  (jod. 

32.  Because  God  is  uncreated,  He   is  also  eternal ;  for 
the  life   itself,  which  is  God,  is  life  iu   itself,  not  from 
itself,  or  from  nothing;  thus  it  is  without  origin;  and 
that  which  is  without  origin,  is  from  eternity,  and  is  eter- 
nal.     15ut  an  idea  of  anything  without  origin  cannot  exist 
with  the  natural   man,  thus   neither  can  the  idea- of  God 
from  eternity  ;  but  it  exists  wiUi  the  spiritual  man.     The 
tlnrnght  of  tiie  natural  man  cannot  hn  separated  and  witli- 
dra^^m  from  the  idea  of  time,  for  this  idea  is  inherent  iu 
it   from    nature,    in    which  it  is;    so    neither  can   it  be 
separate<l  and  withdrawn  from  the  idea  of  origin,  because 
origin  is  to  it  a  Ix'ginning  in  time;   the  appearance  of  the 
suifs  progie.^s  has  impressed  on  the  natural  man  t.his  idea. 
15ut  the  thought  of  the  spiritual  man,  because  it  is  elevated 
abcn-e  nature,  is  withdrawn   from  the  idea  of  time,  and 
instead  of  this  idea  there  is  the  idea  of  a  state  of  life,  and 
instead  of  duration  of  time,    there   is  a  state  of  thought 
derived  from  affection  which  constitutes  life.     For   the 


;    ;'  .  J  .  ■ 


J- 


i  :4i 

f 

f 

*  T  — 


I      J       i 


H 


f 


;■*? 
•>•* 


t-kTd 


vS^ljjs 

M 

. 

& 

H 

' 

yk> 

w 


if 


50 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


sun  in  the  angelic  heaven  neither  rises  nor  sets,  nor  does 
it  cause  years  and  days,  hke  the  sun  in  the  world ;  hence 
it  is  that  the  angels  of  heaven,  because  they  are  in  spiri- 
tual   ideas,    think   abstractedly  from    time.     Wherefore 
their  idea  of  God  from  eternity  does  not  derive  anything 
from  origin,  or  from  beginning,  but  from  the  state  of  his 
being  eternal,  thus  that  everything  which  is  God,  and 
which  proceeds  from  God,   is  eternal,  that  is,  divine  in 
itself.     That  this  is  the  case  I  have  been  permitted  to 
perceive  by  an  elevation  above  the  natural  idea  into  the 
spiritual.      From  these  considerations  it  is  now  evident, 
that  God.  who  is  uncreated,  is  also  eternal ;  that  it  is  also 
impossible  to  think  that  nature  is  from   eternity,  or  in 
time  from  itself,  but  that  it  is  possible  to  think  that  God 
is  from  eternity,  and  that  nature  together  with  time  is 

from  God. 

33.  Since  God  is  eternal.  He  is  also  infinite;  but  as 

there  is  a  natural  idea  as  well  as  a  spiritual  idea  of  what 

is  eternal,  so  is  there  likewise  of  what  is  infinite.     The 

natural  idea  of  what  is  eternal  is  taken  from  time,  but 

the  spiritual  idea  of  it  is  not  so  ;  the  natural  idea  also  of 

what  is  infinite  is  taken  from  space,  but  the  spiritual  idea 

of  it  is  not  so.     For  as  life  is  not  nature,  so  the  two 

properties  of  nature^  which  are  times  and  spaces,  arejuit 

proper ties_of  li]e,  for  they  were  created  with  nature  from 

the  life  which  isj^.     The  natural  idea  of  the  infinite 

God,  which  is  from  space,  is  that  He  fills  the  universe 

from  end  to  end  ;    but  from  this   idea  concerning  the 

infinite  the  thought  arises,  that  the  inmost  principle  of 

nature  is  God,   and  thus  that  it  is  extended,   whereas 

everything  extended  belongs  to  matter.     Thus  because 

the  natural  idea  does  not  at  all  agree  with  the  idea  of 

life,  consisting  of  wisdom  and  love,  which  is  God,  there- 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


51 


fore  the  infinite  must  be  viewed  from  the  spiritual  idea, 
in  which,  as  there  is  nothing  of  time,  so  there  is  nothing 
of  space,  because  there  is  nothing  of  nature.     It  is  from 
a  spiritual  idea,  that  the  divine  love  is  infinite,  and  that 
the  divine  wisdom  is  infinite ;  and  since  the  divine  love 
and  the  divine  wisdom  are  the  life  which  is  God,  there- 
fore the  divine  life  is  also  infinite  ;   and  hence  God  is 
infinite.     That   the   divine   w^isdom  is  infinite  may  be 
evident   from   the   wisdom  of  the  angels  of  the  third 
heaven  ;  for  since  they  excel  the  others  in  w^isdom,  they 
perceive  that  there  is  no  ratio  given  between  their  wisdom 
and  the  divine  wisdom  of  the  Lord,  because  there  is  no 
ratio  given  between  infinite  and  finite.     They  say  also 
that  the  first  degree  of  wisdom  is  to  see  and  acknowledge 
that  this  is  the  case ;  it  is  similar  with  the  divine  love. 
Moreover  the  angels  are,  like  men,  forms  recipient  of 
life,  thus  recipient  of  wisdom  and  love  from  the  Lord, 
and  these  forms  are  from  substances  which  are  without 
life,  thus  in  themselves  dead;  and  between  what  is  dead 
and  what  is  alive  there  is  no  ratio  given.     But  how  what 
is  finite  receives  what  is  infinite  may  be  illustrated  from 
the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun  of  the  world ;  the  light  and 
the  heat  from  the  sun  are  not  themselves  material,  but 
still  they  affect  material  substances,  the  light  by  modify- 
ing them,  and  the  heat  by  changing  their  states.     The 
divine  wisdom  of  the  Lord  is  light,  and  the  divine  love 
of  the  Lord  is  also  heat,  but  the  heat  and  light  are 
spiritual,  because  they  proceed  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun, 
which  is  divine  love,  and  at  the  same  time  divine  wisdom. 
But  the  light  and  heat  from  the  sun  of  the  world  are 
natural,  because  that  sun  is  fire  and  not  love. 

34.  Because  God  is  infinite.   He  is  also  omnipotent; 
for  omnipotence  is  infinite  power.     The  omnipotence  of 


52 


THE   ATHANASIAN    CREED. 


God  shines  forth  from  the  universe,  which  is  the  visible 
heaven  and  the  habitable  globe,  and  these,  together  with 
all  things  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth,  are  the  great  works 
of  the  Omnipotent  Creator.  Their  creation  and  preser- 
vation testify  that  they  proceed  from  divine  omnipotence, 
whilst  their  order  and  mutual  respect  to  ends,  from  first 
to  last,  testify  that  they  proceed  from  divine  wisdom. 
The  omnipotence  of  God  shines  forth  also  from  the 
heaven  which  is  above  or  within  our  visible  heaven,  and 
from  the  globe  there,  which  is  inhabited  by  angels,  'as 
ours  is  by  men.  There  are  there  stupendous  testimonies 
to  the  divine  omnipotence,  which,  because  they  have 
been  seen  by  me  and  revealed  to  me,  I  am  permitted  to 
mention.  There  are  there  all  the  men  who  have  died 
since  the  first  creation  of  the  world,  and  who  after  death 
also  are  men  as  to  form,  but  spirits  as  to  essence.  Spirits 
are  affections  originating  in  love,  and  thus  also  thoughts; 
the  spirits  of  heaven  are  affections  of  the  love  of  good, 
and  the  spirits  of  hell  affections  of  the  love  of  evil.  The 
good  affections,  which  are  angels,  dwell  upon  a  globe 
w^hich  is  called  heaven,  and  the  evil  affections,  which  are 
spirits  of  hell,  dwell  at  a  great  depth  beneath  them.  The 
globe  is  one,  but  divided  as  it  were  into  expanses,  one 
below  the  other.  There  are  six  expanses  ;  in  the  highest 
dwell  the  angels  of  the  third  heaven,  beneath  them  the 
angels  of  the  second,  and  beneath  these  the  angels  of  the 
first.  Below  these  again  dwell  the  spirits  of  the  first 
hell,  beneath  them  the  spirits  of  the  second,  and  beneath 
these  the  spirits  of  the  third.  All  things  are  arranged  in 
such  regular  order,  that  the  evil  affections,  which  are 
spirits  of  hell,  are  held  in  bonds  by  the  good  affections, 
which  are  angels  of  heaven ;  the  spirits  of  the  lowest 
hell  by  the  angels  of  the  highest  heaven,  the  spirits  of 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


53 


the  middle  hell  by  the  angels  of  the  middle  heaven,  and 
the  spirits  of  the  first  hell  by  the  angels  of  the  first 
heaven.  From  such  opposition  the  affections  are  kept 
in  equilibrium,  as  in  the  scales  of  a  balance.  Such 
heavens  and  hells  are  innumerable ;  they  are  divided 
into  assemblies  and  societies,  according  to  the  genera  and 
species  of  all  the  affections  there,  and  the  affections  of 
one  are  arranged  in  order  and  connexion,  according  to 
the  nearer  or  more  remote  affinities  to  those  of  another. 
The  case  is  the  same  in  the  hells  as  in  the  heavens.  This 
order  and  connexion  of  the  affections  are  known  to  the 
Lord  alone,  and  the  arranging  of  the  various  affections — 
as  numerous  as  the  men  who  have  been  in  existence  from 
the  first  creation,  and  will  be  hereafter — is  the  work  of 
infinite  wisdom,  and  at  the  same  time  of  infinite  power. 
That  the  divine  power  is  infinite,  or  that  it  is  omnipo- 
tence, is  clearly  evident  from  this  circumstance  in  the 
other  world,  that  neither  the  angels  of  heaven  nor  the 
devils  of  hell  have  any  power  whatever  from  themselves ; 
if  they  had  the  least  portion,  heaven  would  fall  to  pieces, 
hell  would  become  a  chaos,  and  with  them  every  man 
would  perish. 

35.  The  reason  that  all  power  belongs  to  God,  and 
none  whatever  to  man  or  angel  is,  that  God  alone  is  life, 
men  and  angels  being  only  recipients  of  life,  and  that  jt 
ij^thejife  which  acts,  the  recipieaLof  Jife  being  acted  U£2Ili 
Every  one  may  see  that  a  recipient  of  life  cannot  act  at 
all  from  itself,  but  that  its  action  is  from  the  life  which  is 
God  ;  nevertheless,  it  can  act  as  if  from  itself;  for  this 
power  can  be  given  to  it ;  that  it  also  has  been  given, 
was  said  above.  If  man  does  not  live  from  himself,  it 
follows  that  he  does  not  think  and  will  from  himself,  nor 
speak  and  act  from  himself,  but  from  God,  who  alone  is 


2.*; 

1-'  bT 


54: 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


life.     That  this  is  the  ease  appears  as  a  paradox,  because 
man  has  no  other  sensation  than  that  these  powers  are  in 
himself,    and   thus   are   used    by    himself;  but   still   he 
acknowledges,  when  he  speaks  from  a  principle  of  faith, 
that  everything  good  and  true  is  from  God,  and  every- 
thing evil  and  false  from  the  devil ;  and  yet,  whatever  a 
man  thinks,  wills,  speaks,  and  does,  has  reference  either 
to  what  is  good  and  true,  or  to  what  is  evil  and  false. 
Hence  it  is,  that  a  man  says  to  himself,  or  the  priest  of 
the  church  says  with  reference  to  him,   w^hen  he  does 
good,  that  he  is  led  of  God,  and  when  he  does  evil,  that 
he  is  led  of  the  devil.      The  preacher  also  prays  that  his 
thought,  his  discourse,  and  his  tongue,  may  be  led  by 
the  spirit  of  God,  sometimes  also  he  affirms  after  preach- 
ing, that  he  spoke  from  the  spirit.     Other  men  also  have 
within  them  the  same  perception.     I  can  also  myself 
testify  before  the  world,  that  all  things  connected  with 
my  thought  and  will  have  entered  by  influx,  goods  and 
truths  through  heaven   from  the  Lord,   and  evils  and 
falses  from  hell ;  for  I  have  for  a  long  time  been  per- 
mitted to  perceive  it.     The  angels  of  the  superior  heavens 
distinctly  perceive  the  influx,  th^e   wisest  of  them  not 
being  willing  to  thmlc  and  will  even  as  if  from  them- 
selves.    But,  on  the  other  hand,  infernal  genii  and  spirits 
altogether  deny  it,  and  are  angry  when  it  is  spoken  of. 
It  has  nevertheless  been  pointed  out  to  numbers  of  them, 
to  a  living  demonstration,  that  the  case  is  so;  they  were 
how^ever  only  indignant  afterwards.      Because,  however, 
this  subject  appears  as  a  paradox  to  many,  it  is  of  im- 
portance that  it  should  be  seen,  from  some  idea  of  the 
understanding,  how  tlie  influx  is  effected,  in  order  that  its 
existence  may  be  acknowledged.     The  nature  of  the  case 
is  as  follows :  from  the  divine  love  of  the  Lord,  which 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


55 


appears  in  the  angelic  heaven  as  a  sun,  proceed  light  and 
heat ;  the  light  is  the  life  of  His  divine  wisdom,  and  the 
heat  is  the  life  of  His  divine  love.  This  spiritual  heat 
which  is  love,  and  this  spiritual  light  which  is  wisdom, 
enter  by  influx  into  subjects  which  are  recipient  of  life, 
just  as  natural  heat  and  light  from  the  sun  of  the  world 
enter  by  influx  into  subjects  which  are  not  recipient  of 
life.  And  because  light  only  modifies  the  substances  into 
which  it  so  enters,  and  heat  only  changes  their  state,  it 
follows,  that  if  these  subjects  were  animated,  they  would 
feel  the  changes  in  themselves,  and  suppose  that  they 
were  from  themselves,  when  nevertheless  they  both  retire 
and  return  with  the  sun.  Now,  since  the  life  of  the 
divine  wisdom  of  the  Lord  is  light,  therefore  the  Lord  in 
many  passages  of  the  Word  is  called  light,  and  it  is  said 
in  John  :  "  The  Word  was  with  God,  and  God  was  the 
Word ;  in  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 
men."  (i.  1,  2,  3.)  From  these  considerations  it  is  now 
evident,  that  God  has  infinite  power,  because  He  is  the 
all  with  all  men  {pimiis  apud  omnes).  But  how  an  evil 
man  can  think,  will,  speak,  and  do  evil,  when  God  alone 
is  life,  will  be  shown  in  w^hat  follows. 

36.  Since  such  is  the  divine  omnipotence,  that  man 
cannot  of  himself  think  and  will,  and  thence  speak  and 
act,  but  from  the  life  which  is  God,  the  question  arises 
why  every  man  is  not  saved.  But  he  who  concludes 
from  this  that  every  one  is  saved,  or  if  not,  that  he  is  not 
in  fault,  is  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  divine  order  respecting 
man's  reformation,  regeneration,  and  consequent  salva- 
tion. The  laws  of  this  order  are  called  the  laws  of  the 
divine  providence,  and  of  these  the  natural  mind  can  have 
no  knowledge,  unless  it  is  enlightened.  And  because 
man  has  no  knowledge  of  them,  and  thus  forms  his  con- 


56 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


elusions  concerning  the  divine  providence  from  contin- 
gencies in  the   world,   and    by    these  means  falls   into 
fallacies  and  thence  into  errors,  from  which  he  afterwards 
with  difficulty  extricates  himself,  they  must  therefore  be 
brought  to  light.      But  before  they  are  brought  to  light, 
it  is  of  importance  that  it  should  be  known,  that  the 
divine  providence  operates  in  all  the  several  things  which 
belong  to  man,  even  in  the  most  minute  of  them  all,  for 
his  eternal  salvation  ;  his  salvation  having  been  the  end 
of  the  creation  both  of  heaven  and  earth.     For  the  end 
w^as,  that  out  of  the  human  race  might  be  formed  heaven, 
in  which  God  might  dwell,  as  in  his  own  special  abode, 
and  therefore  the  salvation  of  man  is  the  all  in  all  of  the 
Divine  Providence.     But  the  Divine  Providence  proceeds 
so  secretly,  that  man  scarcely  sees  a  vestige  of  it,  and  yet 
it  is  active  in  the  most  minute  particulars  relating  to  him, 
from  infimcy  to  old  age  in  the  world,  and  afterwards  to 
eternity  ;  and,  in  every  one  of  tliem  it  is  eternity  wjijch  it 
regards.     Because  the  divine  wisdom  in^ itself  is_ nothing 
but  an  end,  providence  therefore  acts  from  an^end,  in  an 
end,  and  with  reference  to  aji  end ;  the  end  being  that 
nian  may  become  wisdom  and  love,  ajid  thus  the  dwell- 
ing-place and  the  image  of  the  divine  life.      But  because 
the  natural  minTT,  unless  it  is  enlightened,  does  not  com- 
prehend why  the  Divine  Providence,  when  it  is  the  only 
agent  in  the  work  of  salvation,  and  in  the  most  minute 
particulars  relating  to  the  progress  of  man's  life,  does  not 
lead  all  men  to  heaven — though  from  love  it  is  willing  so 
to  lead  them,   and  is  omnipotence — therefore,  in  what 
now  follows,  the  laws  of  order,  which  are  the  laws  of  the 
Divine  Providence,  shall  be  opened,  and  by  their  means 
I  hope  the  mind  previously  unenlightened  will  be  with- 
drawn from  its  fallacies,  if  it  is  willing  to  be  so. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


57 


87.  The  laws  of  order,  which  are  called  the  laws  of  the 
Divine  Providence,  are  the  following: 

I.  That  man  should  have  no  other  feeling  or  percep- 
tion, or  knowledge  derived  from  his  senses,  than  that  he 
is  endowed  with  life  in  such  a  way  that  he  thinks  and 
wills,  and  thence  speaks  and  acts,  from  himself;  but 
should  nevertheless  acknowledge  and  believe  that  the 
truths  which  he  thinks  and  speaks,  and  the  goods  which 
he  wills  and  does,  are  from  the  Lord,  and  are  thus  as  if 
from  himself. 

II.  That  man  should  act,  in  whatever  he  does,  from 
freedom  according  to  reason,  but  should  still  acknowledge 
and  believe  that  he  derives  the  freedom  itself  from  the 
Lord;  in  like  manner  his  reason  regarded  in  itself,  which 
is  called  rationality. 

III.  That  to  think  and  speak  truth,  and  to  will  and  do 
good  from  freedom  according  to  reason,  are  not  from  man 
himself,  but  from  the  Lord  ;  and  that  to  think  and  speak 
falsity,  and  to  will  and  do  evil  from  freedom,  are  not  from 
man  himself,  but  from  hell ;  in  such  a  way,  however, 
that  the  falsity  and  the  evil  are  from  that  source,  but  the 
freedom  regarded  in  itself,  and  the  faculty  of  thinking,  of 
willing,  of  speaking,  and  of  acting,  regarded  in  itself,  are 
from  the  Lord. 

IV.  That  the  understanding  and  the  will  of  man  should 
not  be  in  the  least  degree  compelled  by  another,  since  all 
compulsion  by  another  takes  away  freedom;  but  that 
man  should  compel  himself,  for  to  compel  himself  js  t^ 
act  from  freedom. 

V.  That  man  should  not  know,  from  any  sense  or  per- 
ception within  himself,  how  good  and  truth  enter  by  in- 
flux from  the  Lord,  or  how  evil  and  falsity  enter  by  influx 
from  hell ;  nor  see  how  the  Divine  Providence  operates 

3* 


58 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CBEED. 


in  favor  of  good  against  evil ;  for  in  this  case  he  would 
not  act  from  freedom  according  to  reason,  as  if  from  him- 
self; it  is  sufficient  that  he  knows  and  acknowledges 
these  things  from  the  Word  and  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
church. 

VI.  That  man  should  not  be  reformed  by  external 
means,  but  by  internal.  By  external  means  are  meant 
miracles  and  visions,  fears  and  punishments;  by  internal 
means,  truths  and  goods  derived  from  the  Word  and 
from  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  and  also  looking  to  the 
Lord ;  for  these  means  enter  by  an  internal  way,  and  re- 
move the  evils  and  falsities  which  reside  within ;  but 
external  means  enter  by  an  external  way,  and  do  not 
remove  the  evils  and  falsities,  but  shut  them  in.  ,  Man  is 
however  further  reformed  by  external  means,  v^hgii  he 
has  been  first  reformed  by  internalj  but  a  man  who  is 
not  reformed  is  only  withheld  by  external  means,  which 
are  fears  and  punishments,  from  speaking  and  doing  the 
evils  and  falsities  which  he  thinks  and  wills. 

VII.  That  man  is  admitted  into  the  truths  of  faith  and 
the  goods  of  love  which  are  derived  from  the  Lord,  only 
so  far  as  he  can  be  kept  in  them  to  the  end  of  his  life ;  for 
it  is  better  that  he  should  be  constantly  evil,  than  that 
he  should  be  good  and  afterwards  evil,  since  he  thus 
becomes  profane.  The  permission  of  evil  is  principally 
from  this  ground. 

VIIL  That  the  Lord  is  continually  withdrawing  man 
from  evils,  so  far  as  man  from  freedom  is  willing  to  be 
withdrawn.  That  so  far  as  man  can  be  withdrawn  from 
evils,  he  is  so  far  led  by  the  Lord  to  good,  and  thus  to 
heaven  ;  but  so  far  as  he  cannot  be  withdrawn  from  them, 
lie  cannot  so  far  be  led  by  the  Lord  to  good^  and  thus  to 
heaven  ;  for  so  far  as  he  is  withdrawn  from  evils,  he  so 


THE   ATHANASIAN    CREED. 


59 


far  does  good  from  the  Lord,  which  in  itself  is  good ;  but 
so  far  as  he  is  not  withdrawn  from  them,  he  so  far  does 
good  from  himself,  which  has  in  it  evil. 

I^-  That  the  Lord  does  not,  withouttheuse  of  means, 
teach  man  truths,  either  from  IlimseTFoTthrough  the 
gggels,  but  that  He  teaches  by  means  derived  fromjhe 
Word,  from  preaching  and  reading,  from  conversation 
and  intercourse  with  others,  and  thusfrorn  private  reflec- 
tions arising  ou^^fthem ;  and  that  man  is  then  enlightened  > 
according  to  his  affection  for  truth  grounded  in  use;  S 
otherwise  he  would  not  act  as  if  from  himself.  ' 

X.  Tliat  man  from  his  own  prudence  has  led  himself 
to  eminence  and  opulence,  when  they  lead  astray ;  for  he 
is  led  of  the  Divine  Providence  to  such  things  as  do  not 
lead  as'^ay,  but  are  serviceable  with  regard  to  eternal  life: 
for  a[l  the  dealings  o£  t]ie  Divine  Providence  in  relation 
to  him  regaM  what  is  eternal,  because  tlie  life  which  is 
God  and  from  which  man  is  man,  is  eternal. 

38.  From  the  above  it  is  evident  that  the  Lord  can 
lead  man  to  heaven  only  by  these  laws,  although  He  has 
divine  love  from  which  He  wills,  and  divine  wisdom 
from  which  He  knows,  all  things,  and  divine  power, 
which  is  omnipotence,  from  which  He  can  effect  what  He 
wills.  For  these  laws  are  the  laws  of  order  respecting 
reformation  and  regeneration,  thus  respecting  the  salva- 
tion of  man;  and  against  them  the  Lord  cannot  act, 
because  to  act  against  them  would  be  to  act  against  His 
own  wisdom  and  love,  thus  against  Himself  The  first 
law,  that  man  from  sense  and  perception  shall  have  no 
other  knowledge  than  that  he  is  endowed  with  life,  but 
shall  still  acknowledge  that  the  goods  and  truths  originat- 
ing in  love  and  faith,  which  he  thinks,  wills,  speaks,  and 
does,  are  not  from  himself  but  from  the  Lord,  presupposes 


I 


60 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


the  second,  that  man  has  freedom,  and  that  it  is  also  ft) 
appear  as  his  own ;  that  he  is  however  to  acknowledge 
that  it  is  not  so,  but  that  it  belongs  to  the  Lord  in  con- 
nexion with  him.  This  law  follows  from  the  former, 
because  freedom  makes  one  with  life;  for  without  free- 
dom man  could  not  feel  or  perceive  that  he  has  life  as  it 
were  inherent  in  himself,  this  being  felt  and  perceived 
from  freedom.  For  from  freedom  it  appears  to  man,  that 
every  action  of  his  life  as  it  were  belongs  to  him,  and  is 
his  own  ;  freedom  being  the  power  of  thinking,  of  willing, 
of  speaking,  and  of  doing,  from  himself,  but  in  this  case, 
it  is  as  if  from  himself.  And  chiefly  it  is  the  power  of 
willing;  for  a  man  says:  "I  have  power  for  what  I 
have  will,  and  I  have  will  for  what  I  have  power;" 
that  is,  "I  am  in  freedom."  Who  again  cannot  think 
from  freedom  that  one  thing  is  good  and  another  evil ; 
or,  that  one  thing  is  true  and  another  false?  freedom 
therefore  w^as  given  to  man  together  with  his  life,  nor  is 
it  in  any  case  taken  from  him.  For  so  flir  as  it  is  taken 
away  or  diminished,  man  so  far  feels  and  perceives  that 
he  does  not  really  live,  but  that  another  lives  in  him ; 
and  so  far  the  delight  of  all  things  belonging  to  his  life 
is  taken  away  or  diminished,  for  he  becomes  a  slave. 
That  man  has  no  other  knowledge  from  sense  and  per- 
ception, than  that  he  is  endowed  with  life,  and  that  it  is 
thus  as  it  were  his  own,  has  no  need  of  any  further  con- 
firmation than  experience  itself.  For  who  has  any  other 
feeling  or  perception  than  that  when  he  thinks,  he  thinks 
from  himself,  that  when  he  wills,  he  wills  from  himself, 
and  that  when  he  speaks  and  acts,  he  speaks  and  acts 
from  himself?  But  it  is  from  a  law  of  the  Divine  Provi- 
dence, that  man  is  to  have  no  other  knowledge;  since 
without  this  sense  and  perception,  he  could  not  receive 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


61 


or  appropriate  anything  to  himself,  or  produce  anything 
from  himself,  thus  he  would  not  be  a  recipient  of  life,  or 
an  agent  of  life,  from  the  Lord ;  he  would  be  like  an 
automaton,  or  an  image  standing  without  understanding 
or  will,  his  hands  hanging  down,  in  expectation  of  an 
influx,  which  would  not  be  given.      For  life,  in  conse- 
quence of  non-reception  and  non-appropriation  as  it  were, 
on  the  part  of  man,  would  not  be  retained,  but  would  be 
transfluent ;  whence  man,  from  being  alive,  would  become 
as  it  were  dead,  and  from  being  a  rational  soul,  he  would 
become  irrational,  thus  either  a  brute  or  a  stock.    For  he 
would  be  without  the  delight  of  life,  the  delight  which 
every  one  has  from  reception,  appropriation,  and  produc- 
tion, as  if  from  himself;  and  yet  the  delight  and  the  life 
act  in  unity,  for  take  away  all  the  delight  of  life,  and  you 
will  become  cold  and  die.     If  it  were  not  from  a  law  of 
the  Divine  Providence,  that  man  should  feel  and  per- 
ceive as  if  life  and  everything  belonging  to  it  were  inhe- 
rent in  him,  and  he  were  merely  to  acknowledge  that 
good  and  truth  are  not  derived  from  himself,  but  from 
the  Lord,  nothing  would  then  be  imputed  to  him,  neither 
good  nor  truth,  thus  neither  love  nor  faith.     And  if 
nothing   were   imputed   to    him,   the   Lord  w^ould    not 
have  commanded  in  the  Word,  that  he  should  do  good 
and  shun  evil,  and  that  if  he  did  good,  heaven  would  be 
his  inheritance,  but  if  evil,  hell  would  be  his  portion ; 
there  would  not  even  be  either  a  heaven  or  a  hell,  because 
without  that  perception,  man  would  not  be  man,  and  thus 
would  not  be  the  habitation  of  the  Lord.     For  the  Lord 
desires  to  be  loved  by  mxin  as^  ij^  it  were  byman's  own 
power ;  thus  the  Lord  dwells  w]th  hun  in  that  which  is 
His  own,  that  which  He  gave  him  for  the  sake  of  this 
end,  that  He  may  be  reciprocally  loved.     For  the  divine 


62 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


love  consists  in  this,  that  it  desires  that  what  belongs  to 
itself  should  belong  to  man,  which  would   not  be  the 
case,  unless  man  felt  and  perceived  that  what  is  from  the 
Lord  is  as  if  Ws  own.     If  it  were  not  from  a  divine  law, 
that  man  from  sense  and  perception  should  have  no  other 
knowledge  than  that  life  is  inherent  in  him,  there  would 
exist  in  him  no  end  for  the  sake  of  which  to  act.     This 
end  is  given  with  him,  because  the  end  from  which  he 
acts  appears  as  if  it  were  inherent  in  him  ;  the  end  from 
which  he  acts  is  his  love,  which  is  his  life ;  and  the  end 
for  the  sake  of  which 'he  acts  is  the  delight  of  his  love  or 
of  his  life,  and  the  effect  in  which  the  end  presents  itself 
is  use.     The  end  for  the  sake  of  which  he  acts,  which  is 
the  delight  of  his  love  or  of  his  life,  is  felt  and  perceived 
in  him,  because  the  end  from  which  he  acts  gives  him 
the  feeling  and  perception  of  it,  which  end  is,  as  was  said, 
his  love,  which  is  his  life.     But  when  a  man  acknow- 
ledges that  all  things  belonging  to  his  life  proceed  from 
the  Lord,  the  Lord  imparts  delight  and  blessedness  to  his 
love,  so  far  as  he  makes  this  acknowledgment,  and  per- 
forms uses.     Thus  whilst  man,  by  acknowledgment  and 
faith  grounded  in  love  as  if  from  himself,  ascribes  to  the 
Lord  all  things  belonging  to  his  life,  the  Lord,  on  the 
other  hand,  ascribes  to  man  the  good  of  his  life,  which  is 
associated  with  every  happiness  and  blessing.    The  Lord 
also  permits  him,  from  an  interior  principle,  to  have 
within  him  an  exquisite  feeling  and  perception  of  this 
good  as  his  own,  and  the  more  exquisite  in  proportion  as 
he  wills  from  the  heart  that  which  he  acknowledges  in 
belief.     The  perception  in  this  case  is  reciprocal ;  for  it 
is  agreeable  to  the  Lord  from  the  consideration  that  He 
is  in  man,  and  man  in  him ;  and  it  is  pregnant  with 
blessing  to  man  from  the  consideration  that  he  is  in  the 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


()3 


I 


Lord,  and  the  Lord  in  him.  Such  is  the  union  of  the 
Lord  with  man,  and  of  man  with  the  Lord,  by  means  of 
love. 

39.  The  reason  that  man  feels  and  perceives  as  if  life 
were  inherent  in  him  is,  that  the  life  of  the  Lord  in  him 
is  as  the  light. and  heat  of  the  sun  in  a  subject.  This 
light  and  heat  do  not  belong  to  the  subject,  but  to  the 
sun  in  it,  for  they  retire  with  the  sun  ;  and  when  they 
are  in  the  subject,  they  belong  in  appearance  entirely  to 
it,  for  from  the  light  the  color  of  the  subject  is  as  if 
inherent  in  it,  and  from  the  heat  its  life  of  vegetation  is 
so  also.  But  this  is  much  more  the  case  with  the  light 
and  heat  from  the  sun  of  the  spiritual  world,  which  is  the 
Lord,  whose  light  and  heat  are  the  light  and  heat  of 
life ;  for  the  sun  from  which  they  proceed  is  the  divine 
love  of  the  Lord,  and  man  is  the  recipient  subject.  This 
light  and  heat  in  no  case  recede  from  the  recipient,  and 
when  they  are  present  with  him,  they  are  to  all  appear- 
ance wholly  his  own  ;  from  the  light  he  has  the  faculty 
of  understanding,  and  from  the  heat  the  faculty  of  will- 
ing. From  the  circumstances  that  the  light  and  heat, 
although  they  are  not  his  own,  are  as  if  whoU}'  in  the 
recipient,  that  they  in  no  case  recede  from  him,  and  that 
they  affect  his  inmost  principles,  which  are  remote  from 
the  sight  of  his  understanding  and  the  perception  of  his 
will,  it  necessarily  appears  that  they  are  implanted  in 
him,  that  in  this  way  they  are  as  if  inherent  in  him,  and 
thus  that  their  produce  is  from  him.  Hence  then  it  is, 
that  man  has  no  other  knowledge  than  that  he  thinks  and 
wills  from  himself,  though  he  does  not  do  so  in  the  small- 
est degree ;  for  thought  and  will  cannot  be  sojinited  to 
the  recipient  as  t^  be  his  own,  precisely  as  the  li^ht  and 
heat  of  the  sun  cannot  be  united  to  a  subject  of  the  earth, 


64 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


and  become,  like  it,  material.  But  the  light  and  heat  of 
life  affect  and  fill  the  recipient,  precisely  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  acknowledgment  that  they  are  not  his 
own,  but  the  Lord's,  and  the  quality  of  the  acknowledg- 
ment is  precisely  according  to  the  quality  of  the  love  in 
acting  according  to  the  commandments,  which  are  uses. 

40.  The  third  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is.  That  to 
think  and  sjpeah  tnUh^  and  to  will  and  do  good^  from 
freedom  according  to  reason^  are  not  from  ^tnan  hut  from 
the  Lord ;  and  that  to  think  and  speak  falsity^  and  to 
will  and  do  evil  from  freedmn^  are  not  from  man  hut 
from  hell  ;  in  such  a  manner  Iwwever  thai  the  evil  and 
the  falsity  are  from  that  source^  hut  the  freedom  re- 
garded in  itself  and  the  faculty  of  thinking^  of  ivilling^ 
of  speaking^  and  of  acting^  regarded  in  itself  are  from 
the  Lord.  That  all  good  that  in  itself  is  good,  and  all 
truth  that  in  itself  is  truth,  are  not  from  man,  but  from 
the  Lord,  may  be  comprehended  by  the  understanding 
from  this  consideration,  that  the  light  which  proceeds 
from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  is  the  divine  truth  of  Ilis  divine 
wisdom,  and  that  the  heat  which  also  proceeds  from  the 
Lord  as  a  sun,  is  the  divine  good  of  His  divine  love  ;  and 
since  man  is  the  recipient  of  these,  it  follows,  that  all 
good  which  originates  in  love,  and  all  truth  which  origi- 
nates in  wisdom,  are  not  from  man  but  from  the  Lord. 
But  that  all  evil  and  all  falsity  are  not  from  man,  but 
from  hell,  is  a  proposition  which,  not  having  before  been 
generally  recognized,  has  not  been  made  an  article  of 
faith,  like  the  proposition  that  good  and  truth  are  not 
from  man.  But  that  it  is  an  appearance  that  evil  and 
falsity  are  from  man,  and  that,  if  it  is  believed,  it  is  a  fal- 
lacy, cannot  be  comprehended,  until  the  nature  of  hell  is 
known,  and  how  it  can  enter  by  influx  with  evil  and 


THE   ATHANASTAN  CREED. 


65 


I 


falsity  on  the  one  hand,  as  the  Lord  enters  by  influx 
with  good  and  truth  on  the  other.  We  shall  therefore 
first  show  of  whom  hell  consists,  and  what  is  its  nature 
and  origin  ;  in  what  manner  also  it  enters  by  influx  and 
acts  against  good,  and  thus  in  what  manner  man,  who  is 
intermediate  between  heaven  and  hell,  is  acted  upon  on 
either  side  as  a  mere  recipient. 

41.  First,  then,  it  shall  be  shown  of  whom  hell  con- 
sists.    Hell  consists  of  spirits,  who,  when  they  were  men 
in  the  world,  denied  a  God,  acknowledged  nature,  lived 
contrary  to  divine  order,  and  loved  evils  and  falsities, 
although,  for  the  sake  of  appearance,  such  was  not  their 
conduct   before  the   world.      Hence  they   were   either 
insane  with  regard  to  truths,  or  they  despised  and  denied 
them,  if  not  with  the  lips,  still  at  heart :— of  spirits  who 
have  been  of  this  description  since  the  creation  of  the 
world,  hell  consists.     All  such  are  there  called  either 
devils  or  satans ;  devils,  if  the  love  of  self  predominated 
with  them ;  satans,  if  the  love  of  the  world.     The  hell 
inhabited  by  the  devils  is  in  the  "Word  meant  by  the 
term  Devil,  and  the  hell  inhabited  by  the  satans  is  there 
meant  by  the  term  Satan.     The  Lord  also  so  conjoins 
the  devils,  that  they  are  as  it  were  one ;  in  like  manner 
also  the  satans ;  hence  it  is,  that  the  hells  are  called  in 
the  singular  the  Devil  and  Satan.     Hell  does  not  consist 
of  spirits  created  such  at  once,  nor  does  heaven  consist 
of  angels  so  created  ;  the  former  consists  of  men  born  in 
the  world,  who  were  made  devils  or  satans  by  them- 
selves, and  the  latter  in   like  manner  consists  of  men 
born  in  the  world,  who  were  there  made  angels  by  the 
Lord.     All  men,  as  to  the  interiors  which  belong  to  their 
minds,  are  spirits,  clothed  in  the  world  with  a  material 
body,  which  is,  in  each  case,  subject  to  the  control  of  the 


tjJL, 


66 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


spirit's  thought,  and  to  the  decision  of  its  affection  ;  for 
the  mind,  which  is  spirit,  acts,  and  the  body,  which  is 
matter,  is  acted  upon.  Every  spirit  also,  after  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  material  body,  is  a  man,  in  form  similar  to 
that  which  he  had  when  he  was  a  man  in  the  world.  It 
is  hence  evident  of  whom  hell  consists. 

42.  The  hell  in  which  those  are  who  are  devils,  is  the 
love  of  self;  and  the  hell  in  which  those  are  who  are 
called  satans,  is  the  love  of  the  world.  The  reason  that 
the  diabolical  hell  is  the  love  of  self  is,  that  this  love  is 
opposed  to  heavenly  love,  which  is  love  to  the  Lord ; 
and  the  reason  that  the  satanical  hell  is  the  love  of  the 
world  is,  that  this  love  is  opposed  to  spiritual  love, 
which  is  love  towards  the  neighbor.  Now  the  two 
loves  of  hell  are  opposed  to  the  two  loves  of  heaven, 
therefore  hell  and  heaven  are  in  opposition  to  each  other ; 
for  all  who  are  in  the  heavens  have  regard  to  the  Lord 
and  their  neighbor,  but  all  who  are  in  the  hells  have 
regard  to  themselves  and  the  world,  and  hence  bear 
hatred  to  the  Lord  and  their  neighbor.  All  who  are  in 
the  heavens  think  what  is  true  and  will  what  is  good, 
because  they  think  and  will  from  the  Lord  ;  but  all  who 
are  in  the  hells  think  what  is  false  and  will  what  is  evil, 
because  they  think  and  will  from  themselves.  From  this 
cause  it  is,  that  all  who  are  in  the  hells  appear  averted, 
their  face  being  turned  away  from  the  Lord  ;  and  also 
inverted,  their  feet  being  upwards  and  their  head  down- 
wards ;  this  appearance  is  from  their  loves  being  op- 
posed to  the  love  of  heaven.  Because  hell  is  self-love,  it 
is  also  fire;  for  all  love  corresponds  to  fire,  and  in  the 
spiritual  world  it  is  so  presented  as  to  seem  like  fire  at  a 
distance,  though  still  it  is  not  fire  but  love.  Hence  it  is 
that  the  hells  within  appear  as  if  they  were  on  fire,  and 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


67 


,■ 


without  like  ejections  of  fire  in  the  midst  of  smoke  rising 
from  furnaces  or  conflagrations;  sometimes  the  devils 
also  themselves  appear  like  fires  of  coals.      The  heat 
which  they  have  from  that  fire  is  like  an  effervescence 
from  impurities,  which  is  concupiscence,  and  the  light 
from  it  is   merely   an   appearance   derived   from   their 
phantasies  and  confirmations  of  evil  by  means  of  falsities ; 
for  whenever  the  heat  of  heaven  enters  by  influx,  it  be- 
comes to  them  cold ;  and  when  the  light  of  heaven  so 
enters,  it  becomes  to  them  a  thick  mist.      They  see  how- 
ever from  their  own  light,  and  live  from  their  own  heat ; 
but  their  sight  is  like  that  of  owls,  birds  of  night,    or 
bats,  whose  eyes  are  dim  to  the  light  of  heaven.     The 
.living  principle  belonging  to  them  consists  merely  in 
their  ability  to  think  and  to  will,  to  speak  and  to  act, 
and  hence  to  see  and  to  hear,  to  taste,  to  smell,  and  to 
feel.     Ijis  merely  a  faculty  derived  from  the  life,  which 
i^.  Grod,  acting  upon  them  from  without,  according   to^ 
order,  and  continually  imrjellinsr  them  to^  order.     It  is 
from  this  faculty  that  they  live  for  ever.      The  dead 
principle  belonging  to  them  is  the  offspring  of  the  evils 
and  falsities  derived  from  their  loves;  hence  it  is  that 
their  life,  viewed  from  their  loves,  is  not  life  but  death ; 
and  therefore  hell  is  in  the  Word  called  death,  and  its 
inhabitants  are  called  dead. 

43.  It  has  been  said  that  self-love  and  the  love  of  the 
world  constitute  hell ;  the  origin  of  these  affections  shall 
now  be  explained.  Man  was  created  to  love  himself  and 
the  world,  his  neighbor  and  heaven,  and  also  the  Lord. 
Hence  it  is  that  when  he  is  born,  he  first  loves  himself 
and  the  world,  then  his  neighbor  and  heaven,  and  after- 
wards, in  proportion  as  he  grows  in  wisdom,  the  Lord ; 
when  this  is  the  case,  he  is  in  reality  led  by  the  Lord, 


I 


68 


THE   ATHANASIAN   GREED. 


though  he  is  apparently  guided  by  himself.     In  propor- 
tion, however,  as  he  is  unwise,  he  stops  short  in  the  first 
decree,  which  is  that  of  loving  himself  and  the  world  ; 
and  if  he  loves  his  neighbor,  it  is  for  the  sake  of  himself 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world.     But  if  he  is  altogether  void  of 
wisdom,  he  then  loves  himself  alone,  or  the  world  and 
his  neighbor  for  the  sake  of  himself ;  and  with  respect  to 
heaven  and  the  Lord,  he  thinks  slightingly  of  them,  or 
denies  them,  or  even  hates  them  in  his  heart,  if  he  does 
not  do  so  openly  in  words.    These  are  the  sources  of  self- 
love  and  the  love  of  the  world,  and  because  these  loves 
are  hell,  the  origin  of  hell  is  evident.     When  man  has 
become  a  hell,  he  is  then  like  a  tree  severed  from  the 
soil,  or  a  tree  whose  fruits  are  hurtful.     He  resembles, 
too,  a  sandy  soil,  in  which  not  a  seed  will  strike  root,— a 
soil  from  which  nothing  springs  but  the  prickly  thorn  or 
the  pungent  nettle.     The  interior  or  higher   principles 
of  his  mind  are  closed,  but  the  exterior  and  lower  are 
open  ;  and  because  self-love  directs  everything  of  thought 
and  will  to  itself,  immersing  them  in  the  body,  it  there- 
fore inverts  and  forces  back  the  exteriors  of  his  mind, 
which,  as  was  observed,  are  open,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  they  have  an   inclination  and   tendency  down- 
wards,  and  are  borne  away  to  hell.     But  because  he 
retains  notwithstanding  the  faculty  of  thinking,  of  will- 
ing, of  speaking,  and  of  acting— a  faculty  which  is  in  no 
case  taken  from  him,  because  he  is  born  a  man — and  is, 
at  the  same  time,  in  this  inverted  state,  receiving  no 
lono-er  any  good  or  truth  whatever  from  heaven,  but 
rather  what  is  evil  and  false  from  hell,  he  therefore  pro- 
cures for  himself  a  kind  of  light,  by  confirmations  of  evil 
based  in  falsity,  and  of  falsity  based  in  evil,  in  order  that 
he  may  still  be  eminent  above  others.     He  imagines  that 


I! 

I 


I 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


69 


this  is  a  rational  light,  though  it  is  from  hell,  and  in 
reality  full  of  foolish  delusion,  producing  a  vision  like 
that  of  a  dream  in  the  night,  or  a  craziness  of  imagina- 
tion, from  which  things  that  are  appear  as  if  they  were 
not,  and  things  that  are  not,  as  if  they  were.  This  will 
be  seen  more  clearly  from  the  comparison  between  a 
man-angel  and  a  man-devil. 

44.  There  are  in  the  world  men-angels,  and  there  are 
men-devils;  heaven  consists  of  the  former,  and  hell  of 
the  latter.  With  a  man-angel  all  the  degrees  of  his  life, 
extending  to  the  Lord,  are  open ;  but  with  a  man-devil 
the  ultimate  degree  only  is  open,  and  the  superior  degrees 
are  closed.  A  man-angel  is  led  by  the  Lord,  according 
to  order,  inwardly  from  order,  and  outwardly  to  it ;  but 
a,  man-devil  js  led  bj^  the  Lord  outwardly  to  order,  but 
h^  himself  inwardly  against  it.  A  man-angel,  again,  is 
continually  withdrawn  from  evil  by  the  Lord,  and  led  to 
good  ;  a  man-devil  also  is  withdrawn  by  the  Lord  from 
evil,  but  it  is  from  evil  more  grievous  to  that  which 
is  less  so,  for  he  cannot  be  led  to  good.  A  man-angel  is 
continually  withdrawn  from  hell  by  the  Lord,  and  led 
more  inwardly  into  heaven.  A  man-devil  is  also  con- 
tinually withdrawn  from  hell,  but  it  is  from  a  more 
grievous  to  a  milder  hell ;  for  he  cannot  be  led  into  hea- 
ven. A  man-angel,  because  he  is  led  by  the  Lord,  is  led 
by  civil,  moral,  and  spiritual  laws,  for  the  sake  of  the 
Divine  principle  which  is  in  them ;  a  man-devil  is  led  by 
the  same  laws,  but  it  is  for  the  sake  of  something  belonc^- 
mg  to  self  iji  them.  A  man-angel  loves  from  the  Lord 
the  goods  and  truths  of  the  Church,  which  are  also  the 
goods  and  truths  of  heaven,  because  they  are  goods  and 
truths  ;  but  he  loves  from  himself  the  goods  which  relate 
to  the  body  and  the  w^orld,  and  the  truths  which  belong 


70 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


to  the  various  kinds  of  knowledge,  because  they  are  for 
use  and  gratification.  He  loves  both  the  one  and  the 
other  apparently  from  himself,  but  in  reality  from  the 
Lord.  A  man-devil  loves  also  from  himself  the  goods 
which  relate  to  the  body  and  the  world,  and  the  truths 
which  belong  to  the  various  kinds  of  knowledge,  because 
they  are  for  use  and  gratification  ;  but  he  loves  both  the 
one  and  the  other  apparently  from  himself,  but  in  reality 
from  hell.  A  man-angel  is  in  freedom  and  in  the  delight 
of  his  heart,  when  he  is  doing  good  from  a  principle  of 
yicTiT  S^^^>  ^^^  when  he  is^doing  evil ;  but  a  man-devil  is  in 
freedom  and  in  the  delight  of  his  heart  when  he  is  doing 
apparent  good  from  a  principle  of  evil,  and  when  he  is 
doing  evil.  A  man-angel  and  a  man-devil  resc^mble  each 
other  as  to  externals,  but  they  are  altogether  unlike  as  to 
internals,  and  therefore  when  externals  are  laid  aside  by 
death,  the  difference  is  apparent ;  the  one  is  carried  away 
into  heaven,  the  other  is  conveyed  down  into  hell. 

45.  That  man  is  only  a  recipient  of  good  and  truth 
from  the  Lord,  and  of  evil  and  falsity  from  hell,  is  a 
proposition  that  may  be  illustrated  by  comparisons, 
confirmed  by  the  laws  of  order  and  influx,  and,  lastly, 
established  by  experience.  It  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing comparisons :  The  sensories  of  the  body  are  only 
recipient  and  percipient  as  if  from  themselves ;  the 
sensory  of  sight,  which  is  the  eye,  sees  objects  out  of 
itself,  as  if  it  were  in  close  contact  with  them,  though  it 
is  the  rays  of  light  that  convey,  with  the  wings  of  ether, 
the  forms  and  colors  of  them  into  the  eye ;  these  forms, 
being  perceived  by  the  internal  sight,  which  is  called  the 
understanding,  and  examined  in  the  eye,  are  thus  distin- 
guished and  known  according  to  their  quality.  The 
sensory  of  hearing  in  like  manner  perceives  sounds — 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


71 


whether  they  are  words  or  tones  of  music— from  the 
place  whence  they  proceed,  as  if  it  were  there,  though  the 
sounds  enter  in  from  without,  and  are  perceived  in  the 
ear  by  the  understanding  within.     The  sensory  of  smell, 
again,  perceives  from  within  what  enters  in  from  without^ 
sometimes  at  a  great  distance.     The  sensory  of  taste  also 
is  excited  by  means  of  the  food,  which  moves  upon  the 
tongue  from  without.     The  sensory  of  touch  has  no  sen- 
sation unless  it  is  touched.     These  five  sensories  of  the 
body,  by  virtue  of  an  influx  from  within,  are  sensible  of 
the  impressions  which   enter   by  influx  from  without; 
the  influx  from  within  is  from  the  spiritual  world,  but 
the  influx  from  without  is  from  the  natural.     With  these 
facts  the  laws  inscribed  on  the  nature  of  all  things  are 
in  concert,  and  these  laws  are:    1.  That  nothing  exists, 
subsists,  is  acted  upon  or  moved,  by  itself,  but  by  some 
other  being  or  agent ;  whence  it  follows  that  everything 
exists,  subsists,  is  acted  upon  and  moved  by  the  First 
Being,  who  has  no  origin  from  another,  but  is  in  Himself 
the  living  force  which  is  life.     2.  That  nothing  can  be 
acted  upon  or  moved,  unless  it  is  intermediate  between 
two  forces,  of  which  the  one  acts  and  the  other  re-acts  ; 
thus,  unless  one  acts  on  one  part,  and  one  on  the  other ; 
and  further,  unless  one  acts  from  within,  and  the  other 
from  without.     3.  And  since  these  two  forces,  whilst 
they  are  at  rest,  produce  an  equilibrium,  it  follows,  that 
nothing  can   be  acted  upon  or  moved,  unless  it  is  in 
equilibrium,  and  that  when  it  is  acted  upon,  it  is  out  of 
the  equilibrium  ;  and  further,  that  everything  acted  upon 
or  moved  seeks  to  return  to  an  equilibrium.     4.  That  all 
activities  are  changes  of  state,  and  variations  of  form, 
and  that  the  latter  are  derived  from  the  former.     By  state 
In  man  we  mean  his  love ;  and  by  changes  of  state  the 


H 


2^  ^ 


4? 


72 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


affections  of  love ;  by  form  in  him  we  mean  his  intelli- 
gence, and  by  variations  of  form,  his  thoughts  ;  the  latter 
also  are  from  the  former. 

46.  But  on  this  subject  we  must  also  speak  from 
experience.  The  angels  of  the  higher  heavens  feel  and 
perceive  clearly  that  they  have  goods  and  truths  from 
the  Lord,  and  that  they  have  nothing  whatever  of  the 
one  or  the  other  from  themselves.  When  they  are  let 
back  into  the  state  of  their  proprium,  which  is  occasion- 
ally done,  they  also  feel  and  perceive  clearly  that  they 
derive  from  hell  the  evil  and  falsity  which  belong  to 
their  proprium.  Some  angels  of  the  lowest  heaven,  not 
comprehending  that  evil  and  falsity  are  from  hell, 
because  they  had  acknowledged  in  the  world  that  they 
were  in  evils  from  their  birth  and  from  actual  life,  were 
conducted  from  one  infernal  society  to  another,  in  each 
of  which,  as  long  as  they  continued  in  it,  they  thought 
precisely  like  the  devils  there,  and  differently  in  each, 
thinking  at  the  time  in  opposition  to  goods  and  truths. 
They  were  told  to  think  from  themselves,  thus  in  a  differ- 
ent way,  but  they  replied,  that  they  were  quite  unable 
to  do  so ;  from  this  they  began  to  comprehend  that  evils 
and  falsities  enter  by  influx  from  hell.  The  case  is  simi- 
lar with  many  who  believe  and  insist  that  life  in  them  is 
their  own.  It  sometimes  also  happens  that  the  angels 
are  separated  from  the  societies  with  which  they  are 
connected,  they  are  then  unable  to  think  or  to  will,  or  to 
speak  or  to  act,  lying  as  helpless  as  new-born  infants. 
But  as  soon  as  they  are  restored  to  their  own  societies, 
they  revive ;  for  every  one,  whether  man,  spirit,  or 
angel,  is,  as  to  his  affections  and  the  thoughts  originating 
in  them,  connected  with  societies,  and  acts  in  unison  with 
them.     Hence  it  is  that  all  are  known,  as  to  their  quality, 


I 

!l 


' 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


73 


from  the  societies  to  which  they  belong.     From  this  it  is    L 
evident  that  the  quality  of  their  life  enters  into  them  by 
influx  from   without.     With    regard   to   myself,  I  can 
testify  that  for  fifteen  years  I  have  clearly  perceived  that 
I  had  no  thought  or  will  of  myself,  and  that  all  evil  and 
flilsity  entered  by  influx  from  the  societies  of  hell,  but  all 
good  and  truth  from  the  Lord.     Some  spirits  accordingly*^ 
observing  this,  said  that  I  was  not  alive  ;    I  was  permitted 
to  reply  that  I  was  more  alive  than  they  were,  because  I 
was  sensible  of  the  influx  of  good  and  truth  from  the 
Lord,  and  saw  and  perceived  the  enlightenment.     I  can 
also  further  affirm,  that  from  the  Lord  I  perceive  the 
evils  and  falsities  that  are  derived  from  hell,  not  only 
that  they  originate  there,  but  also  from  what  spirits  they 
proceed.     I  was  again    permitted   to  speak  with  these 
spirits,  to  rebuke  them,  and  to  reject  them  with  their 
evils  and  falsities,  and  was  thus  liberated  from  them.     I 
have  been  further  permitted  to  say  that  now  I  know  that 
I  live,  and  that  before  I  had  not  this  knowledge.     From 
these  circumstances  I  was  fully  convinced  that  all  evil 
and  falsity  are  from  hell,  and  all  good  and  truth,  together 
with  the  perception  of  them,  from  the  Lord ;  and,  more- 
over, that  I  have  freedom  and  thence  perception  as  if 
from  myself.     That  all  evil  and  falsity  are  from  hell,  I 
have  also  been   permitted   to  see   with  my  own  eyes. 
There  appear  above  the  hells  as  it  were  fires  and  clouds 
of  smoke ;  the  fires  are  evils  and  the  clouds  of  smoke 
falsities;  they  continually  exhale  and  ascend  from  that 
direction,  and  the  spirits  who  dwell  in  the  intermediate 
space  between  heaven  and  hell  are  affected  by  them  accord- 
ing to  their  love.     It  shall  also  in  a  few  words  be  describ- 
ed how  evil  and  falsities  have  the  power  to  issue  out  of 
hellj  though  there  is  in  existence  but  one  acting  force,  and 


74 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


that  is  the  life  which  is  God  ;  for  this  has  also  been  dis- 
closed to  me.  There  was  uttered  with  a  loud  voice  from 
heaven,  a  truth  from  the  Word,  which  flowed  down  to 
hell,  passing  through  it  to  the  lowest  hell.  It  was  further 
heard  that  this  truth  was  in  its  descent  successively  and 
gradually  turned  into  falsity,  and  at  length  into  a  falsity 
of  such  a  nature,  that  it  was  altogether  opposite  to  the 
truth,  and  it  was  then  in  the  lowest  hell.  The  reason 
that  it  was  turned  in  this  way  was  that  everything  is 
received  according  tg  the  state  and  form  of  the  recipient; 
hence  it  was  that  this  truth  entering  by  influx  into  inverted 
forms,  such  as  exist  in  hell,  became  successively  inverted 
and  changed  into  a  falsity  the  opposite  of  truth.  From 
this  also  the  quality  of  hell  was  evident,  from  the  highest 
hell  to  the  lowest ;  and  further,  that  there  is  but  one  acting 
force,  and  that  is  the  life  which  is  the  Lord. 

47.  That  man  is  nevertheless  a  subject  of  guilt,  follows 
as  a  consequence  from  what  was  said  above,  and  also 
from  what  was  before  established  concerning  the  life 
which  is  God,  and  which  exists  in  man  from  God,  and 
further  from  the  laws  above  cited,  which  are  truths.  The 
reason  that  evil  is  imputed  to  man  is,  that  power  has 
been  given  him,  and  is  continually  given  him,  to  feel 
and  perceive  as  if  there  were  life  in  himself;  and  because 
he  is  in  this  state,  he  is  also  in  freedom,  and  has  the 
faculty  of  acting  as  if  from  himself.  This  freedom  and 
faculty,  regarded  in  themselves,  are  not  taken  from  him, 
because  he  is  born  a  man,  who  is  to  live  for  ever.  It  is 
from  these  that  he  has  power,  as  if  from  himself,  to 
receive  both  good  and  evil.  And  because  he  is  kept  in 
an  intermediate  state  between  heaven  and  hell,  the  Lord 
also  gives  him  power  to  know  that  all  good  is  from  Him, 
and  all  evil  from  the  devil ;  and  further,  by  means  of  the 


75 


truths  in  the  church,  to  discern  what  good  and  evil  are. 
When  he  knows  them,  and  is  enabled  by  the  Lord  to  think 
and  will  them,  as  well  as  to  speak  and  do  them,  as  if  from 
himself,  and  this  continually  by  means  of  influx,  in  this 
case,  if  he  is  not  a  recipient,  he  becomes  a  subject  of  guilt. 
But  the  fallacy  which  deceives  him  arises  chiefly  from 
this  cause,  that  he  does  not  know  that  his  freedom  and 
the  faculty  of  acting  as  if  from  himself,  are  derived  from 
an  influx  of  life  from  the  Lord  into  his  inmost  principle, 
and  that  this  influx,  because  he  is  born  a  man  and  en- 
dowed with  this  principle,  is  not  taken  from  him,  but 
entering  into  recipient  form  beneath  his  inmost  principle 
—the  forms  and  principle  in  which  his  understanding 
and  will  reside— is  varied  according  to  the  reception  of 
good  and  truth,  and  even  diminished  and  taken  away 
according  to  the  reception  of  evil  and  falsity.    In  a  word, 
the  life  which  causes  man  to  be  man,  and  to  be  distin- 
guished from  the  brutes ;  the  life  which  is  in  his  inmost 
principle,  and  therefore  acts  universally  in  his  inferior 
principles ;  the  life  from  which  he  has  freedom  and  the 
faculty  of  thinking  and  willing,  of  speaking  and  acting, 
is  perpetually  derived  from  the  Lord's  presence  with 
man;  but  man's  understanding  and  will  arising  from 
that  life  are  changed  and  varied  according  to  reception. 
Man  lives  in  an  intermediate  state  between  heaven  and 
hell;  the  delight  arising  from  the  love  of  evil  and  of  the 
falsity  grounded  in  it  enters  into  him  by  influx  from  hell, 
whilst  the  delight  arising  from  the  love  of  good  and  of 
the  truth  grounded  in  it,  enters  into  him  by  influx  from 
the  Lord.     He  is,  moreover,  constantly  kept  in  the  sen- 
sation and  perception  of  life  as  if  it  were  from  himself, 
and  by  that  means  he  is  also  constantly  kept  in  tlie  free- 
dom of  choosing  the  one  or  the  other,  as  well  as  in  the 


V 


■paciBifjg 


76 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


77 


faculty  of  receiving  the  one  or  the  other.     So  far  there- 
fore as  he  chooses  and  receives  evil  and  falsity,  so  far  is 
he  taken  from  that  intermediate  state  down  to  hell ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  he  chooses  and  receives  good 
and  truth,  so  far  is  he  removed  from  it  to  heaven.     The 
state  of  man  from  creation  is,  that  he  may  know  that  evil 
is  from  hell,  and  good  from  the  Lord,  and  that  he  may  per- 
ceive them  in  him  as  if  from  himself;  and  when  he  per- 
ceives them,  that  he  may  reject  the  evil  to  hell,  and  receive 
the  good  with  the  acknowledgment  that  it  is  from  the 
Lord.     When  he  thus  rejects  the  one  and  receives  the 
other,  he  does  not  then  appropriate  to  himself  the  evil, 
or  make  the  good  a  ground  of  merit.     I  know  however 
that  there  are  many  who  do  not  comprehend  this,  and 
who  have  not  the  will  to  comprehend  it;  but  let  them, 
notwithstanding,  pray  to  the  Lord,  that  He  may  be  con- 
tinually with  them,  that  He  may  lift  up  and  turn  His 
countenance  to  them,  that  He  may  teach,  enlighten,  and 
lead  them,  because  of  themselves  they  can  do  nothing 
that  is  good,  and  grant  that  they  may  live ;  that  the  devil 
may  not  seduce  them,  and  pour  evil  into  their  hearts, 
inasmuch  as  they  know  that,  if  they  are  not  led  by  the 
Lord,  he  leads  them  and  instils  into  them  evils  of  every 
kind,  such  as  hatred  and  revenge,  cunning  and  deceit,  as 
a  serpent  instils  poisons ;  for  he  is  at  hand  exciting  and 
constantly  accusing,  and  when  he  finds  a  heart  turned 
away  from  God,  he  enters  in  and  dwells  there,  and  draws 
down  the  soul  to  hell.    0  Lord,  deliver  us.    These  words 
coincide  with  what  was  said  above,  for  hell  is  the  devil ; 
and  it  is  thus  still  acknowledged  that  man  is  led  either 
by  the  Lord  or  by  hell,  that  he  is  in  this  way  in  an  inter- 
mediate state.     (See  also  what  was  said  on  this  subject, 
n.  35.) 


48.  The  fourth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is.  That 
the  understanding  and  the  will  should  not  he  in  the  least 
degree  compelled  hy  another^  since  all  compulsion  hy  aiio- 
ther  takes  away  freedom  ;  hut  that  man  should  compel 
himself^  for  to  compel  himself  is  to  act  from  freedom. 
Man's  freedom  belongs  to  his  will ;  from  the  will  it  exists 
in  the  thought  of  the  understanding;  and  by  means  of 
the  thought  it  shows  itself  in  the  speech  and  in  the  action 
of  the  body  ;  for  man  says,  when  he  wills  anything  from 
freedom,  ^' I  will  to  think  this^^^  ''I  will  to  speak  this,^^  and 
"/  will  to  do  this,^^     From  freedom  of  will  he  has  also  the 
faculty  of  thinking,  of  speaking,  and  of  acting,  for  the 
will  gives  this  faculty,  because  it  is  freedom.     Since  free- 
dom belongs  to  man's  will,  it  belongs  also  to  his  love, 
since  nothing  else  in  man  constitutes  freedom,  but  the 
love  which  belongs  to  his  will.     The  reason  is,  that  love 
is  the  life  of  man,  for  man  is  of  the  same  quality  as  his 
love ;  consequently,  that  which  proceeds  from  the  love 
of  his  will,  proceeds  from  his  life.     Hence  it  is  evident, 
that  freedom  belongs  to  man's  will,  to  his  love,  and  to  his 
life,  consequently,  that  it  makes  one  with  his  proprium, 
and  with  his  nature  and  disposition.      Now  because  the 
Lord  desires  that  everything  which  proceeds  from  Him- 
self to  man,  should  be  appropriated  to  man  as  if  it  were 
man's  own,  for  otherwise  there  would  be  in  man  no  means 
of  reciprocity  by  which  conjunction  is  effected,  it  is  there- 
fore a  law  of  tlie  Divine  Providence,  that  the  understand- 
ing and  the  will  of  man  should  not  be  at  all  compelled  by 
another.      For  who  has  not  the  power  to  think  and  will 
both  evil  and  good?  against  the  laws  and  in  conformity 
with  them?    against  the  king  and  in  agreement  with 
him?  even  against  God  and  in  obedience  to  God?     But 
he  is  not  allowed  to  speak  and  do  all  the  things  that  he 


78 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CUE  ED. 


thinks  and  wills,  for  there  are  fears  which  compel  the 
externals,  but  not  the  internals.     The  reason  is,  that  the 
externals  must  be  reformed  by  the  internals,  but  not  the 
internals  by  the   externals;  for  the  internal  enters  by 
influx  into  the  external,  but  not  the  external  into  the 
internal.     The  internals  also  belong  to  man's  spirit,  the 
externals  to  his  body;  and  because  the  spirit  is  to  be 
reformed,  therefore  it  is  not  compelled.      There  are  how- 
ever some  fears  which  compel  the  internals  or  spirit  of 
man,  but  they  are  those  only  which  enter  by  influx  from 
the  spiritual  world,  and  refer  on  the  one  hand  to  the 
punishments  of  hell,  and  on  the  other  to  the  loss  of  favor 
with  God.     But  the  fear  of  the  punishment  of  hell  is  an 
outward  fear  belonging  to  the  thought  and  will,  whereas 
the  fear  arising  from  the  loss  of  favor  with  God  is  an 
inward  fear  belonging  to  them  ;  it  is  that  holy  fear  which 
attaches  and  conjoins  itself  to  love,  and  with  it  at  length 
forms  one  essence.     It  shows  itself  in  the  case  of  the  man 
who  loves  his  friend,  and  in  consequence  of  his  love  is 
afraid  to  injure  him. 

49.  There  is  an  infernal  freedom,  and  there  is  a  hea- 
venly freedom ;  the  infernal  freedom  is  that  into  which 
man  is  born  from  his  parents,  and  the  heavenly  freedom 
is  that  into  which  he  is  reformed  by  the  Lord.  From 
infernal  freedom  man  derives  the  will  of  evil,  the  love  of 
evil,  and  the  life  of  evil ;  but  from  heavenly  freedom  he 
derives  the  will  of  good,  the  love  of  good,  and  the  life  of 
good ;  for  as  was  before  said,  the  will,  the  love,  and  the 
life  of  man  make  one  with  his  freedom.  These  two 
kinds  of  freedom  are  opposite  to  each  other,  but  the 
opposite  does  not  appear,  except  so  far  as  man  is  in  the 
one  and  not  in  the  other.  But  man  cannot  come  out  of 
the  one  into  the  other,  unless  he  compels  himself.     To 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


79 


!^: 


compel  himself,  is  to  resist  evil,  and  to  fight  against  it  as 
if  from  himself,  but  still  to  implore  the  Lord  for  aid  to  do 
so ;  it  is  thus  that  man  fights  from  the  freedom  which  is 
from  the  Lord  inwardly  in  himself,  against  the  freedom 
which  is  from  hell  outwardly  in  himself.  It  appears  to 
him,  whilst  he  is  in  the  combat,  that  it  is  not  freedom 
from  which  he  fights,  but  a  kind  of  compulsion,  because 
it  is  against  that  freedom  which  is  born  with  him ;  never- 
theless, it  is  freedom,  since  otherwise  he  would  not  fight 
as  if  from  himself.  But  the  inward  freedom,  from  which 
he  fights,  though  appearing  like  compulsion,  is  afterwards 
felt  as  freedom,  for  it  becomes  as  if  involuntary,  sponta- 
neous, and  in  a  manner  innate.  The  case  is  compara- 
tively like  that  of  a  man  who  compels  his  hand  to  write, 
to  work,  to  play  upon  a  musical  instrument,  or  to  fence, 
the  hands  and  arms  afterwards  performing  these  opera- 
tions as  if  from  themselves,  and  of  their  own  accord  ;  for 
man  is  in  such  a  case  in  good,  because  removed  from  evil, 
and  led  by  the  Lord.  When  man  has  compelled  him- 
self against  infernal  freedom,  he  then  sees  and  perceives 
that  such  freedom  is  servitude,  and  that  heavenly  freedom 
is  real  freedom,  because  from  the  Lord.  The  case  in 
itself  is  this,  that  so  far  as  man  compels  himself  by  resist- 
ing evils,  so  far  are  the  infernal  societies,  with  which  he 
acts  in  unity,  removed  from  him,  and  he  is  introduced  by 
the  Lord  into  heavenly  societies,  that  he  may  act  in  unity 
with  them.  On  the  other  hand,  if  man  does  not  compel 
himself  to  resist  evils,  he  continues  in  them.  That  the  case 
is  so,  has  been  made  known  to  me  by  much  experience  in 
the  spiritual  world  ;  and  further,  that  evil  does  not  recede 
in  consequence  of  any  compulsion  effected  by  punish- 
ment, nor  afterwards  by  any  fear  which  punishment  may 
produce. 


80 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


50.  It  was  said  above,  that  it  is  a  law  of  the  Divine 
Providence,  that  man  should  compel  himself;  by  this  is 
meant  that  he  should  compel  himself  from  evil,  but  not 
t^t  he  should  compel  himself  to  good ;  for  he  is"  per^ 
nutted  to  compel  himself  from  evil,  but  not  ^  comgel 
himself  to  good  which  in^  itself  js  good.     For  if  he  com- 
pels himself  to  good  and  has  not  compelled  himself  from 
evil,  he  does  not  do  good  from  the  Lord,  but  from  him- 
self; for  he  compels  himself  to  it  either  for  the  sake  of 
himself,  or  for  the  sake  of  the  world,  or  for  the  sake  of 
recompense,  or  from  a  principle  of  fear.     Such  good  in 
itself  is  not  good,  because  the  man  himself,  or  the  world, 
or  recompense,  is  in  it  as  its  end,  but  good  itself  is  not 
in  it,  thus  neither  the  Lord;  it  is,  moreover,  not  fear, 
but  love,  which  causes  good  to  be  good.     As  for  exam- 
ple: were  a  man  to  compel  himself  to  do  good  to  his 
neighbor,  to  give  to  the  poor,  to  endow  churches,  to  do 
justice,  and  hence  perform  deeds  of  charity  and  truth, 
before  he  had  compelled  himself  to  abstain  from  evils 
and  by  that  means  removed  them,  it  would  be  like  a 
palliative  mode  of  treatment,  by  which  a  disease  or  an 
ulcer  is  healed  externally.     Or  it  would  be  like  an  adul- 
terer compelling  himself  to  chastity,  a  proud  man  to 
humility,  and  a  dishonest   man  to  sincerity,  by  mere 
external  acts.     But  \vhen  inan  compels  himself  to  abstain 
from  evils,  hje  then  purifies  his  internal,  and  when  this  is_ 
d2ne  lie  does  good  from  freedom,  without  compelling 
h^"^s^^^  to  do  it.     For  so  far  as  man  compels  himself  to 
abstain  from  evil,  so  far  he  comes  into  heavenly  freedom, 
from  which  is  derived  everything  good  which  in  itself 
is  good  ;  he  does  not  therefore  compel  himself  to  it.     It 
appears  indeed  as  if  there  were  a  close  connexion  be- 
tween compelling  himself  from  evil,  and  compelling  him- 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


81 


self  to  good,  but  there   is  no  such  connexion.     From 
undeniable  experience  I  know  that  several  men  have 
cornpelled  themselves  to  do  good,  but  not  to  abstain  from 
evil ;  but  when  they  were  explored,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  evils  from  within  were  inherent  in  the  good 
which  they  did;  and  hence  their  good  was  compared 
with  idols  and  images  constructed  of  clay  or  mire.     I 
was  also  told,  that  such  persons  believe  that  God  is 
gained  over  by  the  ascription  of  glory  and  the  offering 
of  gifts,  even   though   they   proceed*'  from   an   impure 
heart.     Nevertheless  a  man  may,  before  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  compel  himself  to  good,  although   he  does  not 
compel  himself  from   evil,  because  in  the  world  he  is 
recompensed  for  it ;  for  in  the  world  that  which  is  exter- 
nal is  regarded,  seldom  that  which  is  internal ;  but  before 
God  it  is  otherwise. 

51.  The  fifth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is.  That 
man  should  not  know,  from   any  sense  or  jpercejption 
within  himself,  hxno  good  and  truth  enter  ly  influx  from 
the  Lord,  or  how  evil  and  falsity  enter  ly  influx  from 
hell ;  nor  see  how  the  Divine  Providence  operates  in 
favor  of  good  against  evil ;  for  in  this  case  he  would 
not  act  from  freedom  according  to  reason  as  if  from 
himself     It  is  sufficient  that  he  knows  and  acknowledges 
these  things  from  the  Word,  and  from,  the  doctrine  of 
the  church.     This  is  meant  by  the  Lord's  words  in  John  : 
''  The  spirit  breatheth  where  it  willeth,  and  thou  hearest 
the  sound  thereof,  but  knowest  not  whence  it  cometh, 
and  whither  it  goeth  ;  so  is  every  one  who  is  born  of 
the  Spirit"  (iii.  8);  and  also  by  these  words  in  Mark: 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed 
upon  the  earth,  and  should  sleep,  and  rise  night  and  day, 
and  the  seed  should  spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not 

4* 


82 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


83 


how ;  for  the  spontaneous  earth  bringeth  forth  fruit,  first 
the  bhide,  then  the  ear,  at  length  the  full  corn  in  the  ear; 
and  when  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he 
putteth  in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is  come."  (iv. 
26-29.)  The  reason  that  man  does  not  perceive  the  ope- 
ration of  the  Divine  Providence  within  him  is,  that  such 
perception  would  take  away  his  freedom,  and  hence  the 
faculty  of  thinking  as  if  from  himself,  and  with  it  also 
all  the  enjoyment  of  life,  so  that  he  would  be  like  an 
automaton,  in  which  there  is  no  principle  of  reciprocity 
for  conjunction  to  be  effected;  he  would  also  be  a  slave, 
not  a  free  man.  The  principal  cause  that  the  Divine 
Providence  moves  so  secretly  that  there  is  scarcely  any 
vestige  of  it  apparent,  although  it  operates  upon  the 
most  minute  things  of  man's  thought  and  will,  which 
regard  his  eternal  state,  is,  that  the  Lord  continually 
desires  to  impress  His  love  upon  him,  and  through  it 
His  wisdom,  and  thus  to  create  him  into  His  image. 
Therefore  it  is  that  the  operation  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
man's  love,  and  from  it  upon  his  understanding,  and  not 
from  his  understanding  upon  his  love.  The  love  with 
its  affections,  which  are  manifold  and  innumerable,  is  not 
perceived  by  man  except  from  a  most  general  feeling,  and 
from  that  in  so  small  a  degree  that  it  is  scarcely  percep- 
tible at  all ;  and  yet  man  is  to  be  led  from  one  affection 
of  loves  into  another,  according  to  the  connexion  in 
which  they  are  arranged,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
reformed  and  saved.  This  is  incomprehensible,  not  only 
to  man  but  also  to  the  angels.  If  man  discovered  any- 
thing of  these  arcana,  he  could  not  be  withdrawn  from 
leading  himself,  even  though  it  were  continually  from 
heaven  into  hell,  notwithstanding  he  is  constantly  led  by 
the  Lord  from  hell  into  heaven  ;  for  from  himself  he 


constantly  acts  in  opposition  to  order,  but  the  Lord  con- 
stantly  according   to   it.     For,    in   consequence  of  the 
nature  derived  from  his  parents,  he  is  in  the  love  of  him- 
self and  the  world,  and  hence  he  perceives,  from  a  feel- 
ing of  delight,  the  whole  of  those  loves  as  a  good  ;  and 
still   those   loves   must   as   ends   be  removed.     This  is 
effected   by   the   Lord   by   an   infinity  of  ways   which 
appear  intricate  as  a  labyrinth,  even  before  the  angels  of 
the  third  heaven.     From  these  considerations  it  is  evi- 
dent, that  it  would  not  be  at  all  advantageous  to  man  to 
know  anything  of  the  subject  from  sense  and  perception, 
but  on  the  contrary  hurtful  to  him,  and  destroy  him  for 
ever.     It  is  enough  that  he  is  acquainted  with  truths, 
and  through  them  with  the  nature  of  good  and  evil,  and 
that  in  every  event  and  circumstance,  he  acknowledges 
the  Lord,  and  His  divine  guidance  and  protection.     In 
this  case,  so  far  as  he  is  acquainted  with  truths,  and 
through  them  discerns  good  and  evil,  and  moreover  does 
truths  as  if  from  himself,  so  far  the  Lord  by  means  of 
love  introduces  him  into  wisdom  and  into  the  love  of 
wnsdom,  conjoining  wisdom  with  love,  and  making  them 
one   because   they  are  one  in  Himself.     The  ways  by 
which  the  Lord  leads  him,  may  be  compared  with  the 
vessels  through  which  his  blood  flows  and  circulates ; 
and  also  with  the  fibres  and  their  foldings  within  and 
without  the  viscera  of  the  body,  especially  in  the  brain, 
through  which  the  vital  spirit  flows,  imparting  animation. 
Man  is  ignorant  how  all  these  things  enter  by  influx  and 
flow  through  him,  and  yet  he  lives  if  he  only  knows  and 
does  what  is  really  conducive  to  his  own  well  being. 
But  the  ways  by  which  the  Lord^  leads  him  are  much 
more  complicated  and  inextricable,  both  those  by  which 
He   leads  him   through   the   societies   of  heaven,   and 


84 


THK   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CHEED. 


85 


inwardly  into  them.  This,  therefore,  is  what  is  meant 
by  "the  spirit  breatheth  where  it  willeth,  and  thou 
knowest  not  whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth" 
(John  iii.);  also,  by  the  seed  springing  up  and  growing, 
the  man  knowing  not  how.  (Mark  iv.)  "What  advan- 
ta2:e  beside?  is  it,  that  man  should  know  how  the  seed 
grows,  provided  he  knows  how  to  plough  the  earth,  to 
harrow  it,  to  sow  the  seed,  and  when  he  reaps  the  har- 
vest, to  bless  and  praise  God  ? 

52.  The  operation  of  the  Divine  Providence,  which 
proceeds,  though  man  is  ignorant  of  it,  shall  be  illustrated 
by  two  comparisons.  It  resembles  a  gardener  who  col- 
lects the  seed  of  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers  of  every  kind, 
and  provides  himself  with  spades,  rakes,  and  other 
implements  for  working  the  ground.  He  afterwards 
brings  his  garden  into  cultivation,  digging  it,  dividing  it 
into  beds,  putting  in  the  seeds,  and  smoothing  the  surface. 
This  is  the  work  of  man  as  if  from  himself;  but  it  is  the 
Lord  who  causes  the  seeds  to  strike  root,  to  appear  above 
the  earth,  to  shoot  forth  into  leaves,  and  then  into  flowers, 
and  lastly  to  yield  new  seeds  for  the  gardener's  benefit. 
It  resembles  again  a  man  who  is  about  to  build  a  house. 
He  provides  himself  with  the  requisite  materials,  such  as 
beams,  rafters,  stones,  lime,  and  other  things.  But  the 
Lord,  whilst  the  man  is  ignorant  of  it,  afterwards  builds  the 
house  from  the  foundation  to  the  roof,  entirely  suited  to 
the  man's  convenience.  From  these  comparisons  it  fol- 
lows that,  unless  man  provides  himself  with  the  requisites 
for  his  garden  or  his  house,  he  will  have  neither  the 
former  with  the  advantage  of  its  fruits,  nor  the  latter  to 
afford  him  a  dwelling.  So  is  it  in  the  case  of  reforma- 
tion. The  requisites  with  which  man  is  to  provide  him- 
self are,  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good  derived  from 


the  Word,  from  the  teaching  of  the  church,  from  the 
world  and  from  his  own  labor,  the  Lord  effecting  the 
rest  without  man's  knowledge.  It  must,  however,  be 
borne  in  mind  that  all_  these  requisites  for  planting  the 
garden,  or  building  the  house,^which5  as  was  observed, 
are  the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good,  are  merely  the 
necessary  stores,  w^ch  have  no  life,  until  man  uses  them, 
that  is,  lives  according  to  them,  as  if  from  himself.  When 
this  is  done,  the  Lord  then  enters,  and  imparts  life,  and 
builds,  that  is,  reforms.  The  garden  or  the  house  is 
man's  understanding ;  for  in  it  dwells  his  wisdom,  which 
derives  every  property  it  has  from  love. 

53.  The  sixth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is  :  That 
man  should  not  he  reformed  hy  external  means^  hut  hy  in- 
ternal; hy  external  means  are  meant  miracles  and  visions^ 
fears  and  punishments ;  hy  internal^  the  truths  and 
goods  derived  from  the  Word  and  the  teaching  of  the 
churchy  and  looMng  to  the  Lord,  For  these  means  enter 
hy  an  internal  way^  and  cast  out  the  evils  and  falsities 
which  reside  within;  hut  external  means  enter  hy  an 
external  way,  and  do  not  cast  out  the  evils  and  falsities, 
hid  shut  them  in,  Man  is,  however,  further  reformed 
hy  external  means ^  when  he  has  heen  first  reformed  hy 
internal. 

This  follows  from  the  laws  above  stated,  viz.,  that  man 
is  reformed  by  means  of  freedom,  but  not  otherwise ;  and 
further,  that  to  compel  himself  is  to  act  from  freedom, 
but  to  be  compelled  is  not  so.  Man  is  compelled  by 
miracles  and  visions,  and  also  by  fears  and  punishments; 
by  the  former  the  external  of  his  spirit,  which  consists 
in  thinking  and  willing,  is  compelled ;  and  by  the  latter, 
the  external  of  his  body,  which  consists  in  speaking  and 
doing.     This  may  be  compelled,  because  man  neverthe- 


I 


86 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


less  thinks  and  wills  freely ;  but  the  external  of  his  spirit 
must  not  be  so,  for  in  that  case  his  internal  freedom,  by 
means  of  which  he  is  to  be  reformed,  perishes.     If  he 
could  have  been  reformed  by  miracles  and  visions,  then  all 
men  throughout  the  whole  world  would  be  so.  It  is,  there- 
fore, a  holy  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  that  internal 
freedom  should  not  in  the  least  degree  be  violated ;  for 
by  it  the  Lord  enters  with  regard  to  man,  even  into  the 
hell  where  he  is,  and  by  it  He  leads  him  there ;  and  if 
man  is  willing  to  follow.  He  brings  him  out,  and  intro- 
duces him  into  heaven,  there  bringing  him  nearer  and 
nearer  to  himself.     It  is  in  this  way  only  that  man  is 
brought  out  of  infernal   freedom,  which,  regarded  in 
itself,  is  slavery,  because  derived  from  hell,  and  brought 
into  heavenly  freedom,  which  is  essential  freedom,  be- 
coming by  degrees  of  a  higher  quality,  until  at  length  it 
attains  its  highest  state,  because  it  proceeds  from  the 
Lord,  whose  will  is  that  man  should  not  in  any  degree 
be  forced.     This  is  the  path  along  which  man's  reforma- 
tion proceeds ;  but  it  is  a  path  which  miracles  and  visions 
would  close.     The  freedom  of  man's  spirit  is  not  in  any 
case  violated,  even  for  such  an  end  as  this,  viz.,  that  the 
evils  belonging  to  him,  both  hereditary  and  actual,  may 
be  removed.    This  istlone,  as  was  said  above,  when  he 
compels  himself.     These  evils  are  removed  by  the  Lord's 
inspiring  him   with  the  affection  of  truth   from  which 
he  derives  intelligence,  and  with  the  affection  of  good 
through  which  he  acquires  love;  for  so  far  as  he  is  in 
these  affections,  he  so  for  compels  himself  to  resist  evils 
and  falsities.     This  again  is  a  path  of  reformation  which 
miracles  and  visions  would  close,  for  they  persuade  and 
compel  belief,  and  thus  bind  and  imprison  the  thoughts ; 
hence,  when  his  freedom  is  taken  away,  man  has  no 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


8 


I 


means,  from  any  interior  principle,  of  removing  his  evils, 
for  no  evil  is  removed  but  from  such  a  principle.  The 
evils  thus  remain  shut  in,  and  from  their  own  internal 
freedom,  in  which  they  delight,  they  continually  act  in 
opposition  to  the  truths  and  goods  which  miracles  and 
visions  had  impressed  upon  the  mind,  and  at  length 
disperse  them.  They  then  term  miracles  the  interior 
operations  of  nature,  visions  the  insane  delusions  of  a 
disordered  imagination,  and  goods  and  truths  mere  fal- 
lacies and  absurdities.  Such  is  the  effect  which  evils 
shut  in  produce  upon  the  externals  which  shut  them  in. 
But  man,  when  he  thinks  but  superficially,  may  possibly 
believe  that  miracles  and  visions,  although  they  per- 
suade, still  do  not  take  away  freedom  of  thought.  They 
do  so,  however,  with  the  unreformed,  but  not  with  the 
reformed ;  for  with  the  former  they  shut  in  their  evils, 
but  not  so  with  the  latter. 

54.  All  men  who  wish  for  miracles  and  visions  resem- 
ble the  children  of  Israel  who,  after  they  had  seen  so 
many  prodigies  in  Egypt,  at  the  Eed  Sea,  and  on  Mount 
Sinai,  forsook  within  a  month  the  worship  of  Jehovah, 
and  worshipped  the  golden  calf.  (Exodus  xxxii.)  They 
also  resemble  the  rich  man  in  hell,  who  said  to  Abraham, 
that  his  brethren  w^ould  repent,  if  one  were  sent  to  them 
from  the  dead,  but  to  whom  Abraham  replied  :  "  They 
have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  let  them  hear  them;  "  'Mf 
they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they 
be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  (Luke 
xvi.  29,  30,  3L)  They  also  resemble  Thomas,  who  said 
that  he  would  not  believe  unless  he  saw,  and  to  whom  the 
Lord  said  :  "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and 
yet  have  believed."  (John  xx.  29.)  Those  who  believe 
and  do  not  see,  are  those  who  do  not  desire  signs  but 


88 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


truths,  that  is,  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  believe  them. 
The  latter,  being  internal  men,  become  spiritual.  The 
former,  however,  being  external,  remain  sensual,  and 
when  they  see  miracles,  and  believe  only  by  their  means, 
they  are  not  unlike  a  graceful  woman,  who  is  inwardly 
affected  with  a  fiital  disorder  of  which  she  soon  dies.  They 
also  resemble  fruits  which  are  beautiful  in  the  rind,  but 
decayed  at  the  core ;  or  nuts  in  which  a  worm  lies  con- 
cealed. It  is  moreover  well  known,  that  no  man  can  be 
compelled  to  love  and  believe,  but  that  love  and  belief 
must  be  rooted  inwardly  in  man  ;  consequently  no  man 
can  be  brought  to  love  God,  and  to  believe  in  Him,  by 
miracles  and  visions,  because  they  compel.  For  how  will 
he  who  does  not  believe  in  consequence  of  the  miracles 
recorded  in  the  Word,  believe  in  consequence  of  miracles 
which  have  no  place  in  the  Word  ? 

55.  The  seventh  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is  : 
That  man  should  he  admitted  hy  the  Lord  into  the  truths  of 
fait\  and  the  goods  of  love  only  so  far  as  he  can  he  kept  in 
them  to  the  end  of  his  life ;  for  it  is  hetter  thai  he  should  he 
constantly  evil,  than  that  he  should  he  good  and  afterwards 
evil,  for  in  tliis  case  he  hecomes  profane.  The  permission  of 
evil  is  also  from  this  source.  The  Lord  can  impart  the 
affection  of  good,  and  the  faith  originating  in  it.  to  every 
man  of  sound  reason,  by  withholding  him  from  the  evil 
loves  of  his  proprium ;  for  so  far  as  man  is  withheld  from 
them,  he  is  so  far  in  the  understanding  of  truth  and  in  the 
will  of  good.  I  have  seen  even  devils  brought  back  again 
to  such  a  state  that,  whilst  they  remained  in  it,  they  spoke 
truths  from  their  understanding  and  belief,  and  performed 
goods  from  their  will  and  love.  They  were  brought  into 
this  state,  because  they  denied  their  ability  to  understand 
truths  and  to  perform  goods ;  but  as  soon  as  the  detention 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


89 


from  their  own  loves  was  relaxed,  and  they  had  returned 
into  the  lusts  originating  in  them,  they  had  instead  of  a 
belief  grounded  in  truth,  a  belief  grounded  in  falsity  ; 
and  instead  of  the  love  of  good,  the  love  of  evil.     This 
has  been  frequently  witnessed,  and  in  the  presence  of 
many.     Hence  it  was  plain  that  every  man  is  capable  of 
being  reformed,    and  that  being  reformed  is  the  same 
thing  as  being  removed  from  evil  loves.     But  how  man 
is  removed  from  them  has  been  described  above.     The 
reason  that  this  removal  is  not  effected  by  the  Lord  is, 
that  those  who  come  into  the  affections  of  truth  and  good' 
and  into  the  faith  and  love  originating  in  them,  and  do  not 
constantly  remain  in  these  affections  to  the  end  of  their 
life,  but  relapse   into  the   loves   from    which  they  had 
abstained,  are  guilty  of  profaning  holy  things.     There  are 
several  kinds  of  profanation,  but  this  is  the  most  grievous 
of  all ;  for  after  death  the  lot  of  those  who  are  guilty  of 
it  is  terrible.     They  are  not  in  hell,  but  beneath  it,  where 
they  neither  think   nor  will,  but   merely  see   and   act. 
They  see  objects  which  are  not  in  existence,  and  do  not 
see  those  which  are.     They  act  as  if  they   were   doing 
everything,  and  yet  they  do  nothing.     They  are  alto- 
gether the  insane  delusions  of  a  disordered  imagination. 
And  because  they  neither  think  nor  will,    they  are  no 
longer  men ;  for  it  is  the  characteristic  of  man  to  think 
and  will.     Hence  it  is  that  they  are  not  addressed  as  male 
or  female  beings,  but  as  if  they  were  objects  devoid  of  all 
distinctions  of  sex.      When  they  are  seen  in  any  deo-ree 
of  light  from  heaven,  they  have  the  appearance  of  skele- 
tons covered  with  a  blackish  skin.     Such  is  the  condition 
of  those  who  were  once  reformed,  and  do  not  remain  so. 
The  reason  that  their  lot  is  so  dreadful  shall  also  be  stated. 
By   reformation  there  is  effected,   between    them   and 


90 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHAJSTASIAN   CREED. 


91 


heaven,  a  communication,  from  which  there  is  an  influx 
of  goods  and  truths ;  by  these  the  interiors  of  their  minds 
are  opened  and  their  evils  set  aside.  If  they  remain  in 
this  state  till  death  they  are  happy ;  but  if  they  do  not 
remain  so,  they  are  unhappy  ;  for  the  evils,  which  had 
been  removed,  then  return,  and  mingle  with  the  truths 
and  goods;  thus  heaven  in  their  case  mingles  with  hell, 
and  that  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  cannot  be  separated. 
For  whatever  has  been  once  impressed  upon  the  mind  of 
man,  by  means  of  love,  is  never  extirpated  ;  and  there- 
fore after  death,  because  the  goods  cannot  be  separated 
from  the  evils,  nor  the  truths  from  the  falsities,  the  whole 
mind  is  torn  from  its  seat.  Hence  it  is  that  these  spirits 
have  no  longer  either  thought  or  will  ;  what  remains  of 
these  faculties  being  like  a  shell  when  the  kernel  is  gone, 
or  like  mere  skin  and  bone  when  the  flesh  is  removed  ; 
for  this  is  all  that  they  have  remaining  of  the  man.  Be 
it  therefore  known  that  there  is  no  danger  in  departing 
from  evil  to  good,  but  that  the  danger  is  in  departing  from 
good  to  evil. 

56.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  lot  of  those  who  are 
constantly  evil ;  for  they  are  in  hell  according  to  the 
loves  of  their  life.  There  they  think,  and  from  their 
thought  they  speak,  although  they  speak  falsities;  they 
will  also,  and  from  their  will  they  act,  although  their 
actions  are  evil.  They  appear  moreover  to  each  other 
as  men,  although  in  the  light  of  heaven  they  are  of  a 
monstrous  form.  Hence  it  may  be  seen  why  it  is  in 
accordance  with  a  law  of  order  relating  to  reformation, 
and  called  a  law  of  the  Divine  Providence,  that  man  is 
admitted  into  the  truths  of  faith  and  the  goods  of  love, 
only  so  far  as  he  can  be  withheld  from  evils  and  kept  in 
goods  to  the  end  of  his  life  ;  and  that  it  is  better  that  he 


M 


should  be  constantly  evil,  than  that  he  should  be  good, 
and  afterwards  evil ;  for  in  this  case  he  becomes  profane. 
The  Lord,  who  both  provides  and  foresees  all  things,  con- 
ceals for  this  reason,  the  operations  of  His  Providence, 
so  much  so  that  man  scarcely  knows  whether  there  is  a 
Providence  in  any  case  whatever.  He  also  suffers  him  to 
attribute  ordinary  events  to  foresight,  and  prosperous 
occurrences  to  fortune,  and  even  to  ascribe  many  things 
to  nature,  rather  than  that  he  should,  through  any  strik- 
ing and  manifest  signs  of  the  Divine  Providence  and  Pre- 
sence, plunge  unseasonably  into  the  midst  of  sanctities, 
in  which  he  would  not  continue.  The  Lord  permits 
similar  things  also  to  exist  in  accordance  with  the  Laws 
of  his  Providence,  viz.,  that  man  should  enjoy  freedom, 
and  act,  in  all  that  he  does,  according  to  reason,  thus 
entirely  as  if  from  himself.  For  it  is  better  that  he  should 
ascribe  the  operations  of  the  Divine  Providence  to  pru- 
dence and  fortune,  than  that  he  should  acknowledge 
them,  and  still  live  as  a  devil.  From  these  circumstances 
it  is  plain,  that  the  laws  of  permission,  which  are  nume- 
rous, proceed  from  the  laws  of  Providence. 

57.  The  kind  of  profanation  described  above  is  meant 
by  the  following  words  in  Matthew :  "  When  the  unclean 
spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  walketh  through  dry 
places,  seeking  rest,  but  flndeth  none ;  then  he  saith,  I 
will  return  into  my  house,  from  whence  I  came  out,  and 
when  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  swept  and  gar- 
nished ;  then  goeth  he  and  taketh  with  himself  seven 
other  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself,  and  entering  in 
they  dwell  there;  and  the  last  things  of  that  man  become 
worse  than  the  first.''  (xii.  43,  44,  45.)  In  this  passage 
the  conversion  of  man  is  described  by  the  departure  of 
the  unclean  spirit  from  him ;  and  his  return  to  evils,  and 


92 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


93 


the  profanation  arising  from  it,  by  the  unclean  spirit 
returning  with  seven  spirits  worse  than  himself.  In  a 
similar  manner  b}^  these  words  in  John,  which  Jesus 
spake  to  the  man  who  was  healed  at  the  pool  of  Be- 
thesda:  "Behold,  thou  art  made  whole,  sin  no  more, 
lest  a  worse  thing  come  unto  thee."  (v.  14.)  And  by 
these  words  in  the  same  Evangelist:  "He  hath  blinded 
their  eyes  and  hardened  their  heart,  that  they  should  not 
see  with  their  eyes,  and  understand  w^ith  their  heart,  and 
be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them."  (xii.  40.)  Lest 
they  should  be  converted  and  be  healed  signifies,  lest  they 
should  become  profane.  This  would  have  been  the  case 
with  the  Jews  (Matt.  xii.  45),  and  therefore  they  were 
prohibited  to  eat  fat  and  blood  (Levit.  iii.  17;  vii.  23, 
25) ;  for  by  this  was  meant  their  profanation  of  what  is 
holy,  in  consequence  of  their  being  of  such  a  character. 
The  Lord  also,  by  means  of  His  Divine  Providence, 
takes  the  greatest  care  that  this  kind  of  profanation  should 
not  occur.  For  this  purpose  He  separates  the  holy  things 
from  those  that  are  not  so  in  the  case  of  man,  stirring 
them  up  in  the  interiors  of  his  mind,  and  elevating  them 
to  himself:  but  those  that  are  not  holy,  he  stores  up  in 
the  exteriors,  turning  them  to  the  world.  Hence  the 
holy  things  can  be  separated  from  the  unholy,  and  man 
can  thus  be  saved.  Salvation  however  cannot  be  cifL-cted, 
when  goods  and  evils  are  mingled  together.  The  Lord 
teaches  in  the  Apocalypse  that  they  who  remain  in  faith 
and  love  until  death,  will  have  a  crown  of  life  (chap.  ii. 
10;  iii.  26). 

58.  The  eighth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is :  That 
the  Lord  is  continually  withdrawing  man  from  evils, 
so  far  as  man  from  freedom  is  willing  to  he  withdrawn 
from,  them.     That  so  far  as  he  can  he  withdrawn  from 


evils,  he  is  so  far  led  hy  the  Lord  to  good,  thus  to  hea- 
ven ;  hut  that  so  far  as  he  cannot  he  withdrawn  from 
them,  he  cannot  so  far  he  led  hy  the  Lord  to  good,  thus 
to  heaven.     For  so  far  as  he  is  withdrawn  from,  evils, 
he  so  far  does  good  from  the  Lord,  which  is  good  in  it- 
self; hut  so  far  as  he  is  not  withdrawn  from  them,  he  so 
far  does  good  from  himself,  which  has  in  it  evil    Man, 
with  regard  to  the  language  of  his  lips  and  the  actions  of 
his  body,  is  in  the  natural  world  ;  but  with  regard  to  the 
thoughts  of  his  understanding  and  the  affections  of  his 
will,  he  is  in  the  spiritual  world.    By  the  spiritual  world 
are  meant  both  heaven  and  hell,  each  being  divided  in  the 
most  orderly  manner  into  innumerable  societies,  accord- 
ing to  all  the  varieties  of  affections  and  the  thoughts 
originating  in  them.      In  the    midst  of  these  societies 
.  is  man,  so  allied  to  them,  that  he  has  not  the  smallest 
power  either  of  thought  or  will,  but  in  connexion  with 
them ;  a  connexion  so  close,  that  if  he  and  they  were 
severed  from  each  other  by  force,  he  would  flill  dead ; 
his  life  remaining  only  in  that  inmost  principle,  by  which 
he  is  a  man  as  distinguished  from  a  beast,  and  by  which 
he  lives  for  ever.    He  is  not  aware  that  he  is,  with  regard 
to  his  life,  in  such  unbroken  intercourse ;  and  the  reason 
of  his  ignorance  is,  that  he  does  not  converse  with  spirits. 
So  long  has  he  been  in  utter  ignorance  of  this  state;  but 
that  it  may  not  be  for  ever  concealed  from  him,  behold, 
it  is  now  revealed.    It  is  necessary  to  premise  this,  before 
this  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  can  be  understood. 

59.  Man  is  from  his  birth  in  the  midst  of  infernal  soci- 
eties, and  expands  into  them  precisely  as  he  develops  the 
evil  affections  of  his  will.  These  affections  are  all  de- 
rived from  the  love  of  self  and  the  love  of  the  world ;  the 
reason  is,  that  these  loves  turn  all  the  powers  of  the  mind 


S 


94 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


95 


downwards  and  outwards,  thus  to  hell,  which  is  beneath 
them  and  extraneous  to  them.  Hell  again  in  this  way 
turns  them  from  the  Lord,  and  thus  from  heaven.  The 
interiors  also  of  all  the  powers  that  belong  to  the  mind 
of  man,  and  with  them  the  interiors  of  all  the  powers  that 
belong  to  his  spirit,  are  capable  of  being  turned  either 
downwards  or  upwards;  they  are  turned  downwards 
when  he  loves  himself  above  all  things,  and  upwards, 
when  he  so  loves  the  Lord.  It  is  an  actual  turnino:; 
man  of  himself  turning  them  downwards,  but  the  Lord 
of  Himself  turning  them  upwards.  It  is  the  ruling  love 
which  effects  the  turning;  for  it  is  only  so  far  as  the 
thoughts  are  derived  from  the  will,  that  they  act  in  this 
way  upon  the  interiors  of  the  mind.  Man,  again,  is  not 
aware  that  such  is  the  case,  and  yet  he  ought  to  be  so, 
in  order  that  he  may  understand  how  he  is  led  by  the 
Lord  out  of  hell,  and  conducted  into  heaven. 

60.  But  that  man  may  be  brought  out  of  hell  and  con- 
ducted into  heaven  by  the  Lord,  he  must  himself  resist 
hell,  that  is  evil,  as  if  from  himself.  If  he  does  not  resist 
it  as  if  from  himself,  he  remains  in  hell,  and  hell  remains 
in  him,  nor  are  they  separated,  even  to  eternity.  This 
also  follows  from  the  laws  of  the  Divine  Providence 
which  have  been  explained  above.  Experience  also  will 
teach  us  that  this  is  the  case.  For  evils  are  removed 
from  man  either  by  punishments,  by  temptations,  and 
the  aversions  arising  from  them,  or  by  the  affections  of 
truth  and  good.  They  are  removed  by  punishments  in 
the  case  of  those  who  are  not  reformed ;  by  temptations 
and  the  aversions  arising  from  them  in  the  case  of  those 
who  will  be  reformed ;  and  by  the  affections  of  truth  and 
good,  in  the  case  of  the  regenerate.  Experience  on  this 
subject  is  as  follows :  When  an  unreformed  or  evil  man 


undergoes  punishments,  as  is  the  case  in  hell,  he  is  kept 
in  them  until  it  is  perceived  that  of  himself  he  does  not 
will  evils ;  he  is  thus  compelled  of  himself  to  remove 
them.     If  the  punishment  does  not  extend  to  the  inten- 
tion and  will,  he  continues  in  his  evil.    But  still  the  evil 
is  not  even  then  extirpated,  because  he  had  not  compelled 
himself;  it  remains  within,  and  returns  when  the  fear 
ceases.    In  the  case  of  those  who  will  be  reformed  evils 
are  removed  by  temptations,  which  are  not  punishments 
but  combats.     Men  of  this  description  are  not  compelled 
to  resist  evils,  but  they  compel  themselves,  and  implore 
the  assistance  of  the  Lord;  they  are  thus  liberated  from 
the  evils  which  they  have  resisted.     They  afterwards 
desist  from  them,  not  from  any  fear  of  punishment,  but 
from  an  aversion  to  evil,  the  very  aversion  becoming  at 
length  with  them  resistance.     But  with  the  regenerate 
there  are  no  temptations  or  combats,  the  affections  of 
truth  and  good  keeping  evils  at  a  distance  from  them  • 
for  they  are  entirely  separated  from  hell,  and  conjoined 
to  the  Lord.     To  be  separated  and  removed  from  evils 
is  the  same  thing  as  to  be  separated  and  removed  from 
the  societies  of  hell.     The  Lord  is  able  to  separate  and 
remove  all,  as  many  as  He  wills,  from  the  societies  of 
hell,  that  is  from  evils,  and  to  transfer  them  to  the  soci- 
eties of  heaven,  that  is  to  goods ;  but  this  state  continues 
but  for  a  few  hours,  after  which  the  evils  return.    Some- 
times also  I  have  seen  this  take  place,  but  have  observed 
that  the  wicked  man  continued  wicked  as  before.    There 
is  not,  in  the  whole  spiritual  world,  an  instance  ofl^ 
man  having  been  removed  trom  evils  but  by  melns  rf 
combat  or  resistance  ^  if  from  himself,  or  of  a^^Tlnan 
having  been  so  removed  but  by  the  Lord  along. 
6L  Experience  may  bear  further  testimony  on  this 


96 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


97 


subject.  All  who  come  from  the  earth  into  the  spiritual 
world,  are  known  as  to  their  quality,  from  their  ability  or 
inability  to  resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves.  Those  who 
can  do  so  are  saved,  but  not  so  those  who  cannot.  The 
reason  is,  that  man  cannot  of  himself  resist  evils,  he  can 
only  do  so  from  the  Lord  ;  for  it  is  the  Lord  who  resists 
evils  with  man,  causing  him  at  the  same  time  to  feel  and 
perceive  as  if  he  did  it  from  himself.  Those  therefore 
resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves,  who  in  the  world  ac- 
knowledged the  Lord,  confessing  that  all  good  and  truth 
proceed  from  Him,  and  nothing  from  man,  and  that 
thus  it  is  from  Him  and  not  from  themselves  that  they 
have  power  against  evils.  Those,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  made  no  such  acknowledgment  in  the  world,  cannot 
resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves,  for  they  are  in  evils, 
and  from  their  love  are  in  the  delight  of  them ;  and  to 
resist  the  delight  of  their  love  is^to  resist  theniselves, 
their  own  nature  and  their  own  lije.  Whilst  the  punish- 
ments of  hell  were  recounted  to  them,  whilst  they  were 
even  seen  and  felt  by  them,  the  trial  has  been  made 
whether  thej''  could  resist  the  evils,  but  still  it  was  all  in 
vain.  They  made  up  their  minds  and  said  :  "Be  it  so, 
let  it  happen  so,  let  me  only  be  in  the  delights  and  joys 
of  my  own  heart,  as  long  as  I  am  here.  I  know  what 
the  present  is,  and  I  have  no  thought  about  the  future. 
No  more  harm  befals  me  than  bef ils  many,  many,  others." 
But  after  the  time  is  expired,  they  are  cast  into  hell, 
where  they  are  compelled,  by  means  of  punishments,  to 
abstain  from  the  perpetration  of  evils.  Punishments 
however  do  not  remove  the  will,  the  intention,  and  the 
consequent  thought,  of  evil ;  they  merely  prevent  the 
act.  Hence  it  is  evident  that  resistance  to  evils  does 
not  originate  wnth  man,  but  with  the  Lord,  in  the  case 


of  those  who  acknowledge  Him ;  and  that  He  causes 
such  resistance  to  appear  as  if  it  proceeded  from 
themselves. 

62.  The  reason  that  the  Lord  alone  resists  evils  in  the 
case  of  man,  and  not  by  means  of  any  angels  of  heaven 
is,  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  Divine  Omnipotence,  the 
Divine  Omniscience,  and  the  Divine  Providence.      It  is 
the  work^  of  the  Divine  Omnipotence,  because  to  resist 
one  evil  is  to  resist  many,  and  also  to  resist  the  hells. 
For  every   evil   is   conjoined  with  evils  innumerable, 
cohering,  like  the  hells  with  each  other ;  for  as  the  hells 
make  one,  so  also  do  evils,  and  no  one  but  the  Lord  alone 
can  resist  the  hells  conjoined  in  this  way.     It  is  the  work 
of  the  Divine  Omniscience,  because  the  Lord  alone  knows 
the  quality  of  man,  what  his  evils  are,  and  their  connexion 
with  all  other  evils;  thus,  in  what  order  they  must  be 
removed,  so  that  man  may  be  inwardly   or  radicallv 
cured.     It  is  also  the  work  of  the  Divine  Providence,  so 
that  nothing  may  be  done  in  opposition  to  the  laws  of 
order,  and  further,  that  what  is  done  may  conduce  to 
man's  well-being  for  ever;  for  the  Divine  Providence, 
the  Divine  Omniscience,  and  the  Divine  Omnipotence,  in 
all  individual  things  regard  what  is  eternal.     From  these 
considerations  it  may  be  evident,  that  no  angel  can  resist 
evils  in  the  case  of  man,  but  the  Lord  alone.      The  Lord 
effects  this  with  man  both  immediately  from   Himself, 
and  also::^ga«iediately  through  heaven;  but  still  it  is  in 
such  a  way,  that  no  angel  knows  anything  of  the  opera- 
tion.    For  heaven  in  its  whole  complex  is  His  Divine 
Proceeding,  and,  therefore,  when  He  operates  through 
Heaven,  He  operates  from  Himself;  it  is  said  mediately, 
because  the  Divine  Operation  flows  through  the  heavens, 
but  still  it  does  not  take  anything  from  the  proprium  of 


9, 


98 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


any  of  the  angels  there,  but  from  that  which  in  them 
belongs  to  itself.  The  appearance  is  similar  to  that  of  a 
man  performing  an  action ;  in  order  to  produce  the  action, 
he  moves  innumerable  motive  fibres  scattered  over  his 
whole  body,  but  of  the  action  not  a  single  fibre  has  any 
knowledge.  Such  also  is  the  nature  of  the  angels  in  the 
divine  body,  which  is  called  heaven. 

63.  The  law  of  the  Divine  Providence,  that  man,  so 
far  as  he  can  be  withdrawn  from  evils,  does  good  so  far 
from  the  Lord,  which  in  itself  is  good  ;  but  that,  so  far  as 
he  cannot  be  withdrawn  from  evils,  he  does  good  so  far 
from  himself,  which  has  evil  in  it,  may  be  illustrated  from 
the  commandments  of  the  decalogue.  The  command- 
ment against  stealing  may  serve  as  an  example.  Those 
who,  as  if  from  themselves,  resist  the  passion  for  stealing, 
and  thus  that  for  getting  gain  insincerely  and  unjustly, 
the  language  of  their  hearts  being,  that  such  a  passion 
must  not  be  gratified,  because  it  is  contrary  to  the  divine 
law,  and  thus  contrary  to  God,  in  itself  infernal,  and 
thus  in  itself  evil,  are,  after  a  few  brief  combats,  with- 
drawn from  this  evil,  and  led  by  the  Lord  into  the  goods 
which  are  called  sincerity  and  justice.  They  then  begin 
to  think  of  these  goods,  and,  from  a  perception  of  their 
qualities,  to  distinguish  them,  they  thus  distinguish 
justice  and  sincerity  from  a  perception  of  what  is  sincere 
and  just;  and  afterwards,  as  they  shun  and  hold  in  aver- 
sion the  evil  of  this  passion,  they  love  these  goods,  and 
from  loving  them  bring  them  into  act,  without  exercising 
any  compulsion  upon  themselves.  These  goods  are 
derived  from  the  Lord,  because  they  are  in  themselves 
goods.  But  it  is  otherwise,  if  the  passion  for  getting  gain 
insincerely  and  unjustly  remains  with  man ;  for  in  this 
case  he  cannot  do  what  is  sincere  from  a  princip'.c  of 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


99 


sincerity,  nor  what  is  just  from  a  principle  of  justice,  that 
3s,  from  the  Lord,  but  what  he  does  is  from  himself.     For 
he  does  it  that  he  may  acquire  the  credit  of  being  sincere 
and  just,  for  the  sake  of  the  ends  which  he  has  in  view, 
VIZ.,  that  he  may  get  greater  gain  or  acquire  honor;  these 
are  the  ends  in  his  goods,  and  it  is  from  the  end  that  all 
the  quality  of  the  good  is  derived.     This  good  has  in  it 
evil,  because  its  quality  is  derived  from  the  proposed  end 
of  getting  gain  insincerely  and  unjustly.     Every  one  may 
see  that  good  of  this  kind  cannot  become  good  in  itself, 
until   the  evil   is  removed.     The  case  is  similar  with 
regard  to  all  the  other  commandments  of  the  decalo<^ue. 
64.  Man  is  removed  from  evils  in  proportion  as  he  is 
removed  from  hell,  for  evils  and  hell  are  one ;  in  the 
same  proportion  he  also  enters  into  goods,  and  is  con- 
joined into  heaven,  for  goods  and  heaven  are  one.      He 
then  becomes  another  man ;  his  freedom,  his  good,  his 
mind,  as  well  as  his  understanding  and  will,  are  inverted- 
for  he  becomes  an  angel  of  heaven.     His  freedom,  which 
before  had  been  the  freedom  of  thinking  and  willing  evil 
becomes  the  freedom  of  thinking  and  willing  good,  which 
m  itself  IS  essential  freedom.     It  is  in  this  freedom  that  he 
first  knows  what  freedom  is,  because  from  the  freedom  of 
evil  he  had  felt  the  freedom  of  good  as  slavery  ;  but  he 
now  feels  from  the  freedom  of  good,  that  the  freedom  of 
evil  IS  slavery  ;  for  this  is  its  true  character.      The  -ood 
which  he  had  done  before,  because  it  was  derived  from 
the  freedom  of  evil,  could  not  be  good  in  reality,  there 
having  been  in  it  the  love  of  self  or  of  the  world ;  because 
good  does  not  exist  from  any  other  origin  than  love. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  good  is  of  the  same  quality  as  the 
love,  for  even  when  the  love  is  evil,  its  delight  is  still  felt 
as  a  good,  although  it  is  really  an  evil.    But  the  good 


I 

It' 


100 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


which  he  does  afterwards,  is  good  in  realit}^,  because  it 
proceeds  from  the  Lord,  who,  as  was  said  above,  is  essen- 
tial good.     His  mind,  before  it  was  conjoined  to  heaven, 
Wxas  turned  backwards,  because  it  had  not  yet  been  led 
out  of  hell.     When  also  it  is  in  a  state  of  reformation,  it 
looks  from  truth  to  good,  thus  from  the  left  to  the  right, 
which  is  contrary  to  order;  but  after  it  is  conjoined  with 
heaven,  it  looks  from  the  right  to  the  left,  that  is,  from 
good  to  truth,  which  is  in  agreement  with  order.      Such 
is  the  way  in  which  the  inversion  is  effected.      The  case 
is  similar  with  his  understanding  and  will ;  because  the 
former  is  the  recipient  of  truth,  and  the  latter  the  recipient 
of  good.     Before  he  is  led  out  of  hell,  these  faculties  do 
not  act  as  one ;  for  he  then  sees  and  acknowledges,  from 
his  understanding  many  things  which  have  no  place  in 
his  will,  because  they  are  not  objects  of  his  love.     But 
when  he  is  conjoined  to  heaven,  his  understanding  and 
will  then  act  as  one,  the  former  becoming  the  agent  of 
the  latter.     For  when  the  inversion  is  effected,  the  object 
of  his  will  is  also  the  object  of  his  love,  and  thus  the 
object  of  his  will,  deriving  its  origin  from  his  love,  is  the 
object  of  his  thoughts.     In  this  way,  after  he  is  removed 
from  evils  by  means  of  resistance  and  combat  against 
them  as  if  from  himself,  he  comes  into  the  love  of  truth 
and  good,  and  then  his  thoughts  are,  in  all  respects,  in 
agreement  with  his  will,  and  the  words  which  clothe  the 
former  are  in  agreement  with  the  actions  which  proceed 
from  the  latter. 

65.  There  are  in  man  two  faculties  of  life ;  the  one  is 
called  the  understanding,  the  other  the  will.  They  are 
altogether  distinct  from  each  other,  but  are  created  to 
form  one ;  and  when  they  do  so,  they  are  called  one 
mind ;  they  are  however  at  first  divided,  but  are  after- 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


101 


wards  united.     They  are  distinct,  precisely  like  light  and 
heat;  for  the  understanding  is  derived  from  the  light  of 
heaven,  which,  in  its  essence  is  Divine  Truth  or  Divine 
Wisdom,  and,  whilst  man  is  in  the  world,  it  sees  from 
this  light,  thinking,  reasoning,  and  forming  its  conclu- 
sions, from  it.     Man  is  however  ignorant  of  this  fact, 
because  he  knows  nothing  of  this  light  or  of  its  origin. 
The  will  again  is  derived  from  the  heat  of  heaven,  which 
in  its  essence  is  the  Divine  Good,  or  the  Divine  Love, 
and  whilst  man  is  in  the  world,  it  loves  from  this  heat, 
deriving  all  its  gratification  and  delight  from  it.     Man  is 
>rant  of  this  fact,  because  he  knows  nothing  of 
or  of  its  origin.     Now  because  the  understand- 
ing sees  from  the  light  of  heaven,  it  is  evident  that  it  is 
the  subject  and  the  receptacle  of  this  light,  thus  also  the 
subject  and  the  receptacle  of  truth  and  of  the  wisdom 
originating  in  it.     And  because  the  will  loves  from  the 
heat  of  heaven,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  the  subject  and  the 
receptacle  of  this  heat,  thus  also  the  subject  and  recep- 
tacle of  good,  and  thus  of  love.     Hence  it  may  be  clearly 
seen  that  these  two  faculties  of  man's  life  are  distinct, 
like  light  and  heat,  truth  and  good,  or  wisdom  and  love. 
That  they  are  also  at  first  divided,  is  plainly  perceptible 
from  the  fact,  that  man  is  able  to  understand  truth,  and, 
from  truth,  good,  as  well  as  to  express  his  approval  of 
the  latter,  without  either  admitting  it  into  his  will,  or 
from  his  will  acting  in  accordance  with  it.    For  he  under- 
stands the  nature  of  truth,  and  from  it  the  nature  of  good, 
when  he  hears  the  former  spoken,  or  reads  it,  so  much 
so,  that  he  can  afterwards,  as  a  preacher  or  an  author, 
impart  it  to  others.     But  when  he  is  alone  and  thinks 
from  his  own  spirit,  he  can  then  observe  that  this  truth 
has  no  place  in  his  will,  that  his  will  is  even  to  do  con- 


102 


THE    ATHANASIAN    CREtD. 


trary  to  it,  and  that  he  actually  does  so,  when  his  fears 
do  not  restrain  him.  Such  is  the  character  of  those  who 
can  speak  intelligently  on  such  subjects,  and  yet  live 
otherwise;  this  is  seeing  one  law  in  their  spirit,  and 
another  in  their  flesh,  the  spirit  being  the  understanding, 
and  the  flesh  the  will.     This  disasrreement  between  the 

o 

understanding  and  the  will  is  perceived  chiefly  by  those 
who  desire  to  be  reformed,  and  but  little  by  others;  the 
cause  of  its  existence  is,  that  the  understanding  in  man 
is  not  destroyed,  though  the  will  is  so.  For  the  under- 
standing is  comparatively  like  the  light  of  the  world,  by 
which  man  may  see  with  equal  clearness  in  the  time  of 
winter  as  in  that  of  summer;  while  the  will  again  is 
comparatively  like  the  heat  of  the  world,  which  may  be 
either  absent  from  the  light  or  present  with  it,  for  in  the 
time  of  winter  it  is  absent,  but  present  in  that  of  summer. 
The  true  state  of  the  case  is  this,  that  nothing  but  the 
will  destroys  the  understanding,  as  nothing  but  the 
absence  of  heat  destroys  the  germinations  of  the  earth. 
The  understanding  is  destroyed  b}^  the  will  in  the  case 
of  those  who  are  in  evils,  when  the  understanding  and 
will  act  in  unity,  but  not  otherwise.  They  act  in  unity 
when  man  thinks  by  himself  from  his  own  love,  but  they 
do  not  so  act  when  he  is  in  company  with  others ;  for  in 
the  latter  case  he  conceals  and  thus  removes  his  will's 
real  love,  and  when  this  is  removed,  his  understanding 
is  elevated  to  a  higher  light.  Experience  may  also  serve 
as  a  confirmation  on  this  point.  I  have  occasionally 
heard  spirits  converse  with  each  other,  as  well  as  with 
myself,  so  wisely  that  an  angel  could  scarcely  have  con- 
versed more  so,  and  from  this,  I  have  been  led  to  think 
that  they  would  soon  be  elevated  to  heaven  ;  but  after  a 
time  I  have  seen  them  with  the  wicked  in  hell.     I  was 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


103 


+ 


ii 


surprised  at  this,  but  was  then  permitted  to  hear  them 
converse  in  a  totally  different  manner,  not  in  favor  of 
truths,  as  formerly,  but  in  opposition  to  them ;  the  reason 
being  that  they  were  now  in  the  love  belonging  to  their 
real  will  and  understanding,  but  on  the  .former  occasion 
they  were  not.  I  have  also  been  permitted  to  see  how 
man's  proprium  is  distinguished  from  that  which  is  not 
so,  for  this  may  be  seen  in  the  light  of  heaven.  The 
proprium  resides  in  the  interiors,  but  that  which  is  not 
so,  in  the  exteriors ;  the  former  being  veiled  and  con- 
cealed by  the  latter,  so  that  it  does  not  appear  until  the 
veil  is  removed,  which  is  done  in  the  case  of  all  after 
death.  I  have  observed  also  that  many  were  astonished 
at  what  they  saw  and  heard,  but  they  were  those  who 
judge  of  the  state  of  a  man's  soul,  from  his  conversation 
and  writings,  without  taking  into  account  the  actions 
which  proceed  from  his  real  will.  From  these  circum- 
stances it  is  plain,  that  these  two  faculties  in  man  are  at 
first  divided.  We  shall  now  speak  of  their  union.  They 
are  united  in  the  case  of  those  who  are  reformed,  the 
union  being  effected  by  means  of  combat  against  the 
evils  of  the  will.  For  when  these  are  removed,  the  will 
for  good  acts  in  unity  with  the  understanding  of  truth. 
Hence  it  follows  that  the  quality  of  the  understanding  is 
the  same  as  that  of  the  will ;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing, 
that  the  quality  of  the  wisdom  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
love.  The  reason  that  the  former  is  of  the  same  quality 
as  the  latter  is,  that  the  love  belonging  to  the  will  is  the 
esse  of  man's  life,  and  the  wisdom  belonging  to  the 
understanding  is  its  existere.  The  love  therefore  which 
belongs  to  the  will  forms  itself  in  the  understanding,  the 
form  which  it  there  receives  being  that  which  is  called 
wisdom ;  for  since  both  have  one  essence,  it  is  plain  that 


104 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


wisdom  is  the  form  of  love,  or  love  existing  in  form. 
After  these  faculties  are  thus  united  by  reformation,  the 
love  of  the  will  then  increases  daily  by  means  of  spiritual 
nourishment  in  the  understanding,  for  it  is  there  that  it 
has  its  affection  for  truth  and  good,  an  affection  resem- 
bling an  appetite  that  longs  for  sustenance.  From  the 
above  it  is  plain  that  the  will  is  the  faculty  which  must 
be  reformed,  and  that  so  far  as  it  is  reformed,  the  under- 
standing discerns,  that  is,  becomes  wise ;  for,  as  was  said 
above,  the  will— but  not  the  understanding— is  destroyed. 
The  will  and  the  understanding  also  make  one  in  the 
case  of  the  unreformed  or  evil,  if  not  in  this  world,  at 
all  events  after  death ;  for  after  death  man  is  permitted 
to  think  from  his  understanding  only  in  accordance  with 
the  love  of  his  will,  every  one  being  at  last  brought  to 
this  condition.  The  evil  love  of  the  will  then  has  its 
own  form  in  the  understanding,  and  this  form,  because 
it  originates  in  the  falsities  of  evil,  is  insanity. 

66.  To  the  preceding  observations  we  must  add  the 
following : 

I.  That  before  reformation,  the  light  of  the  under- 
standing is  as  the  light  of  the  moon,  clear  according  to 
the  knowledges  of  truth  and  good  ;  but  after  reformation 
it  is  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  clear  according  to  the  applica- 
tion of  those  knowledges  to  the  uses  of  life. 

II.  The  reason  that  the  understanding  has  not  been 
destroyed  is,  that  man  may  be  able  to  become  acquainted 
with  truths,  and  from  them  to  see  the  evils  of  his  will  ; 
and,  when  he  sees  them,  to  resist  them  as  if  from  him- 
self, and  thus  be  reformed. 

III.  But  still  man  is  not  reformed  in  virtue  of  his  un- 
derstanding, but  by  means  of  his  understanding  acknow- 
ledging truths,  and,  in  consequence  of  them,  discerning 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


105 


evils ;  for  the  operation  of  the  Lord's  Divine  Providence 
is  upon  the  love  of  man's  will,  and,  from  that  love,  upon 
his  understanding — not  from  his  understanding  upon  the 
love  of  his  will. 

IV.  That  the  will's  love,  according  to  its  quality, 
imparts  intelligence ;  natural  love  derived  from  spiritual 
imparting  intelligence  in  things  civil  and  moral ;  but 
spiritual  love  in  natural  imparting  intelligence  in  things 
spiritual.  But  love  merely  natural  with  the  conceit  aris- 
ing from  it,  imparts  no  intelligence  in  things  spiritual, 
but  rather  the  faculty  of  confirming  whatever  it  pleases ; 
and  after  such  confirmation,  the  understanding  is  so  in- 
fatuated by  it,  that  it  sees  falsity  as  truth,  and  evil  as 
good.  This  love  does  not  however  entirely  take  away 
the  faculty  of  understanding  truths  in  their  own  light ; 
when  it  is  present,  it  takes  it  away,  but  not  when  it  is 
absent. 

V.  When  the  will  is  reformed,  and  the  wisdom,  which 
belongs  to  the  understanding,  becomes  that  of  the  love, 
which  belongs  to  the  will ;  or  when  wisdom  becomes  the 
love  of  truth  and  of  good  in  its  own  form,  man  is  then 
like  a  garden  in  the  season  of  spring,  when  heat  is  united 
to  light,  imparting  soul  to  the  germinations  of  the  natural 
world.  For  the  germinations  of  the  spiritual  world  are 
the  productions  of  wisdom  originating  in  love,  there 
being  in  this  case  in  every  production  a  soul  derived 
from  such  love,  its  clothing  originating  in  wisdom.  Tlie 
will  is  thus  as  it  were  the  father,  aiid  th^  ^il^^J^HitH^i^S 
ag  the  mother. 

VI.  Such  then  is  the  life  of  man,  not  only  the  life  of 
his  mind  {animus\  but  also  that  of  his  body  ;  because  the 
life  of  the  former  acts  in  unity  with  the  life  of  the  latter 
by  correspondences.     For  the  life  of  his  will  or  love  cor- 

5* 


106 


THE   AXHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


107 


responds  to  the  life  of  his  heart,  while  the  life  of  his 
understanding  or  wisdom  corresponds  to  that  of  his 
lungs;  and  these  are  the  two  sources  of  his  bodily  life. 
Man  is  not  aware  that  such  is  the  case ;  it  is  notwith- 
standing from  this  view  of  the  subject  that  an  evil  man 
cannot  live  in  heaven,  nor  a  good  man  in  hell.  For  the 
one  as  well  as  the  other  becomes  as  it  were  dead,  if  he  is 
not  amongst  those  with  whom  the  life  of  his  will,  and 
that  of  his  understanding  originating  in  it,  do  not  act  in 
unity  ;  amongst  such— and  amongst  such  only — does  his 
heart  freely  reciprocate,  and  his  lungs,  which  derive  their 
action  from  it,  freely  respire. 

67.  The  ninth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is  :  That 
the  Lord  doe^  not  without  the  use  of  means  teach  man 
truths  either  from  Himself  or  through  the  angels  ;  hut 
that  He  teaches  him  hj  means  derived  from  the  Word^ 
from  preaching  and  reading,  from  convermtion  and 
intercourse  with  others^  and  from  private  reflections 
arising  out  of  them,  and  that  man  is  then  enlightened 
according  to  his  affection  for  truth  grounded  in  use  ; 
otherwise  he  would  not  act  as  if  from  himself. 

These  propositions  follow  as  consequences  from  the 
laws  of  the  Divine  Providence  which  have  been  before 
explained,  viz.,  that  man  should  be  in  a  state  of  freedom, 
and  act  in  all  that  he  does  from  reason  ;  that  from  his 
understanding  he  should  think  as  if  from  himself,  and 
thence  from  his  will  act  as  if  from  himself;  and  further 
that  he  should  not  be  driven  by  means  of  miracles  or 
visions  to  believe  or  act,  in  any  case  whatever.  These 
laws  are  immutable,  because  they  are  laws  of  the  Divine 
Wisdom,  and  at  the  same  time  of  the  Divine  Love  ;  they 
would  however  be  disturbed,  if  man  w^ere  taught  without 
the  use  of  means,  either  by  influx  or  by  oral  instruction. 


The  Lord  moreover  enters  by  influx  into  the  interiors  of 
man's  mind,  and  through  them  into  its  exteriors,  into  the 
affection  also  of  his  will,  and  through  it  into  the  thought 
of  his  understanding ;  but  not  through  the  thought  of 
his  understanding  into  the  affection  of  his  will.  To  en- 
ter by  influx  into  the  interiors  of  the  mind,  and  through 
them  into  its  exteriors,  is  to  take  root,  and  from  the  root 
to  produce,  the  root  being  in  the  interiors,  and  the  pro- 
duce in  the  exteriors.  To  enter  again  by  influx  into  the 
affection  of  the  will,  and  through  it  into  the  thought  of 
the  understanding,  is  first  to  inspire  the  soul  and  through 
it  to  give  form  to  everything  else ;  for  the  affection  of 
the  will  is  as  it  were  a  soul  through  which  the  thoughts 
of  the  understanding  are  formed.  This  again  is  influx 
from  the  internal  into  the  external,  which  is  the  kind  of 
influx  that  exists.  Man  knows  nothing  whatever  of  the 
influx  which  enters  into  the  interiors  of  his  mind,  nor  of 
that  which  enters  into  the  affection  of  his  will,^  [but  if  he 
were  aware  of  its  existence,  and  judged  of  it  from  his 
natural  impressions,  he  would  say]  that  it  entered  4nto 
the  exteriors  of  his  mind,  and  into  the  thought  of  his 
understanding,  [without  passing  through  the  interiors  of 
his  mind  and  the  affection  of  his  will],  and  this  would  be 
to  produce  without  a  root,  and  to  form  without  a  soul. 
Every  man  may  see  that  this  would  be  contrary  to  divine 


*  There  is  here  some  little  confusion  in  the  Latin  text,  arising  either 
from  an  error  in  the  printing,  or  from  a  defect  in  the  original  MS.  The 
words  occasioning  diflSculty  are  :  "  sed  de  eo  sciturits  est,'"  and  the  proba- 
ble omission  of  a  clause  after  them.  If  we  might  be  allowed  a  conjec- 
ture, perhaps  the  following  slight  change  would  make  the  Latin  clear: 
*'5ed  de  eo  si  aliquid  sciret,  dicer et  quod"  &c.  By  the  help  of  the  words 
inserted  above  between  [  ],  we  hope  the  Author's  meaning  is  clear. — 
Translaior. 


,f.y^ 


108 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


109 


3 


order,  consequently  that  it  would  be  to  destroy,  and  not 
to  build  up.  From  these  considerations  the  truth  of  this 
law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is  evident. 

68.  It  cannot  however  be  known'  how  .the  Lord  enters 
by  influx,  and  how  man  is  accordingly  led,^rom  any 
other  source  than  the  spiritual  world.  .  There  man  is 
with  regard  to  his  spirit,  thus  with  regard  to  his  aiFec- 
tions  and  the  thoughts  derived  from  them ;  for  thoughts 
and   affections    constitute    his  spirit.     It  is    this   that 
thinks  from  its  own  affection,  and  not  the  body.     The 
affections  of  man,   from  which   his  thoughts   proceed, 
extend  into  the  societies  there  in  every  direction,  into 
more  or  fewer  of  them,  according  to  the  extent  and  the 
quality  of  his  affection.     Within  these  societies  is  man  as 
to  his  spirit,  attached  to  them  as  it  were  with  extended 
cords  circumscribing  the  space  in  which  he  walks.     As 
he  proceeds  from  one  affection  to  another,  so  he  proceeds 
from  one  society  to  another,  and  the  part  of  the  society 
in  which  he  is,  is  the  centre  from  which  issue  his  affec- 
tion and  the  thought  originating  in  it  to  all  the  other 
societies  as  circumferences.     These  societies  are  thus  in 
unbroken  connexion  with  the  affections  of  the  centre, 
from  which  he   at  the  time   thinks  and   speaks.     He 
acquires  for  himself  this  sphere— which  is  the  sphere  of 
his  affections  and  their  thoughts— whilst  he  is  in  the 
world ;  if  he  is  evil,  in  hell ;  but  if  he  is  good,  in  heaven. 
He  is  not  aware  that  such  is  the  case,  because  he  is  not 
aware  that  such  things  exist.     Through  these  societies 
the  man,  that  is,  his  mind,  walks  free,  although  bound, 
led  by  the  Lord,  nor  does  he  take  a  step  into  which  and 
from  which  he  is  not  so  led.     It  is,  moreover,  continually 
provided  that  he  should  have  no  other  knowledge  than 
that  he  proceeds  of  himself  in  perfect  liberty ;  he  is  per- 


mitted to  persuade  himself  of  this,  because  it  is  from  a 
law  of  the  Divine  Providence,  that  he  should  be  taken 
whither  his  affection  desires.  If  his  affection  is  evil,  he 
is  taken  round  through  the  societies  of  hell,  and  if  he 
does  not  look  to  the  Lord,  he  is  brought  into  them  more 
inwardly  and  more  deeply  ;  but  still  the  Lord  leads  him 
as  it  were  by  the  hand,  permitting  and  withdrawing  him, 
so  far  as  he  is  willing  from  freedom  to  follow.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  he  looks  to  the  Lord,  he  is  conducted  from 
these  societies  successively,  according  to  the  order  and 
connexion  in  which  they  are  arranged,  and  this  order 
and  connexion  are  known  to  no  one  but  the  Lord  alone. 
It  is  thus  that  he  is  brought  by  continuous  degrees  out 
of  hell,  upwards  towards  heaven,  and  into  heaven.  The 
Lord  effects  this  without  man's  knowledge,  because,  if 
man  were  aware  of  it,  he  would  disturb  the  continuity  of 
that  progress  by  leading  himself.  It  is  sufficient  that 
man  learns  truths  from  the  Word,  and,  by  means  of 
them,  the  nature  of  goods,  and  then,  from  truths  and 
goods,  the  nature  of  evils  and  falsities ;  in  order  that  he 
may  be  capable  of  being  affected  by  the  former,  and  unin- 
fluenced by  the  latter.  Before  he  is  acquainted  with 
goods  and  truths,  he  has  indeed  the  power  of  knowing 
evils  and  falsities,  but  not  of  seeing  and  perceiving  them. 
It  is  in  this  way  and  in  no  other  that  man  can  be  led 
from  affection  to  affection  in  freedom,  and  as  if  from  him- 
self If  he  acknowledges  the  Divine  Providence  of  the 
Lord  in  every  single  particular,  he  is  then  led  in  agree- 
ment with  his  affection  for  truth  and  good,  by  the  Lord's 
guidance ;  but  if  he  does  not  acknowledge  it,  he  is  then 
led,  in  agreement  with  his  affection  for  evil  and  falsity, 
by  the  Lord's  permission.  He  can  moreover  be  led  in  no 
other  way,  so  as  to  be  able  to  receive  intelligence  corre- 


110 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


Ill 


spending  to  his  aflection  ;  for  be  receives  it  so  far  as  from 
truths  he  fights  against  evils  as  if  from  himself  It  is 
necessary  that  this  should  be  disclosed,  because  it  is  not 
known  that  the  Divine  Providence  is  continual,  and 
operative  in  the  most  minute  particulars  of  man's  life, 
the  reason  of  this  ignorance  being  that  the  mode  of  its 
operation  is  unknown. 

69,  This  being  premised,  we  shall  now  explain  what 
affection  is,  in  the  next  place  we  shall  show  why  man  is 
led  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  his  affections  rather  than 
his  thoughts,  and  lastly,  that  he  cannot  in  any  other  way 
be  saved.  First.  What  is  the  nature  and  meaning  of  affec- 
tion. The  meaning  of  the  term  affection,  is  similar  to 
that  of  love.  But  love  is  as  it  were  the  fountain,  and 
affections  are  as  it  were  the  streams  flowing  from  it ; 
they  are  thus  also  continuations  of  it.  Love  is  as  a  foun- 
tain in  man's  will ;  his  affections,  which  are  its  streams, 
flow  by  continuity  into  his  understanding,  and  there,  by 
means  of  light  from  truths,  they  produce  thoughts,  pre- 
cisely as  the  influences  of  heat  in  a  garden  produce  the 
germinations  of  plants,  by  means  of  the  rays  of  light. 
Love  also  is  in  its  origin  the  heat  of  heaven,  truths  in 
like  manner  are  the  rays  of  the  light  of  heaven,  and 
thoughts  are  the  germinations  arising  from  their  conjugal 
union.  From  such  a  union  spring  all  the  societies  of 
heaven,  which  are  innumerable,  and  which  in  their 
essence  are  affections;  for  they  are  derived  from  love 
which  is  the  heat,  and  from  wisdom  which  is  the  light, 
proceeding  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun.  Hence  these  socie- 
ties, in  proportion  as  the  heat  in  them  is  united  to  the 
light,  and  the  light  to  the  heat,  are  affections  of  good  and 
truth ;  in  this  source  originate  the  thoughts  of  all  who 
form  these  societies.     From  this  it  is  evident  that  the 


I  1 


societies  of  heaven  are  not  thoughts,  but  affections  ;  that 
consequently  to  be  led  by  these  societies  is  to  be  led  by 
affections,  or  to  be  led  by  affections  is  to  be  led  by  socie- 
ties, and  therefore  in  what  now  follows,  instead  of  societies 
the  term  affections  shall  be  employed. 

Sec(^nd]y.  We  shall  now  show  why  man  is  led  hy  the 
Lord  hy  means  of  his  affections  railier  than  his  thoughts. 
When  man  is  led  by  the  Lord  by  means  of  his  affections, 
he  is  capable  of  being  led  according  to  all  the  laws  of  the 
Lord's  Divine  Providence;  but  not  so  if  he  is  led  by 
means  of  his  thoughts ;  for  the  affections  do  not  show 
themselves  before  the  man,  but  the  thoughts  do  so.  The 
affections  again  produce  thoughts,  but  the  thoughts  do 
not  produce  affections;  it  appears  indeed  as  if  the 
thoughts  had  this  power,  but  it  is  a  fallacy.  And  since 
the  affections  produce  thoughts,  they  also  produce  every- 
thing belonging  to  man,  because  they  constitute  his  life. 
This  is  also  well  known  in  the  world.  For  if  you  keep 
a  man  in  his  own  affection,  you  have  him  in  bonds,  and 
lead  him  where  you  please,  and  in  this  case  one  reason  is 
of  as  much  avail  as  a  thousand ;  but  if  you  do  not  keep 
him  in  his  own  affection,  reasons  are  of  no  avail  ;  for  his 
affection,  not  being  in  harmony  with  them,  perverts 
them,  rejects  them,  or  destroys  them.  The  case  would 
be  similar  if  the  Lord  were  to  lead  man  by  means  of  his 
thoughts  rather  than  his  affections,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  other  means.  Since  also  man  is  led  by  the  Lord 
by  means  of  his  affections,  it  appears  to  him  as  if  he 
thought  freely  from  himself,  as  if  he  spoke  also  and  acted 
in  the  same  way.  Hence  then  it  is  that  the  Lord  does  not 
teach  man  without  the  use  of  means,  but  by  the  employ- 
ment of  them,  such,  for  instance,  are  those  derived  from 
the  Word,  from  doctrines  and  preaching  founded  on  the  . 


F--' 


112 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


113 


\ 


( 


M 


Word,  and  from  conversation  and  intercourse  with  others- 
fur  from  these  man  thinks  freely  as  if  from  himself.        ' 
Thirdly.    That  man  cannot  in  any  other  way  be  saved 
This  follows  both  from  what  has  been  said  respecting  the 
laws  of  the  Dirine  Providence,  and  also  from  the  obser- 
vation just  made,  that  thoughts  do  not  produce  affections 
in  man.    For  if  man  knew  the  whole  contenfs'of  the 
Word,  and  the  whole  extent  of  the  doctrines  founded 
upon  It,  even  to  the  arcana  of  wisdom  which  the  angels 
possess,  and  moreover  thought  and  spoke  them,  while°hi3 
thoughts  were  still  the  concupiscences  of  evil,  it  would 
notwithstanding  be  impossible  for  him  to  be  led  out  of 
hell  by  the  Lord.     Hence  it  is  evident  that  if  man  were 
taught  by  influx  from  heaven  into  his  thoughts,  it  would 
be  like  a  man  casting  seed  upon  the  highway,  into  water 
or  snow,  or  even  into  fire. 

70.  Since  the  Divine  Providence  acts  upon  the  aflfec- 
tions,  which  belong  to  man's  love  and  thence  to  his  will, 
leading  him  in  and  from  his  own  affection  into  another 
that  has  a  near  affinity  with  it,  by  means  of  freedom 
but  so  imperceptibly  that  he  is  not  at  all  aware  of  the 
mode  m  which  it  acts,  and  even  scarcely"  knows  that  such 
a  thing  as  a  Divine  Providence  exists,  the  consequence 
IS,  that  many  men  deny  it,  and  confirm  themselves  in 
opposition  to  it.     This  arises  from  various  causes  which 
occur  and  are  apparent  in  the  world ;  such,  for  instance 
as  that  the  devices  and  artifices  of  the  wicked  are  success- 
ful ;  that  impiety  prevails ;    that  there  is  a  hell ;    that 
there  is  a  blindness  of  understanding  in  spiritual  thin-s 
and  so  many  heresies  arising  from  it,  each  of  which' 
deriving  its  origin  from  one  head,  spreads  into  congrega- 
tions and  nations,  and  thus  becomes  permanent.     Su°ch 
.are   Popery,   Lutheranism,  Calvinism,    Melancthonism, 


<W\jfc 


Moravianism,  Arianism,  Socinianism,  Quakerism,  Enthu- 
siasm, and  even  Judaism ;  and  amongst  these  are  Natu- 
ralism and  Atheism.     Eeyond  the  confines  of  Europe 
again,  throughout  several  kingdoms,  Mahometanism  pre- 
vails as  well  as  heathenism ;  the  latter  embracing  various 
kinds  of  worship,  and  in   some  instances  indicating  a 
total  absence  of  all  worship.    All  men  who  do  not  reflect 
upon  these  subjects   in  accordance  with  divine  truth, 
deny  in  their  hearts  that  any  Divine  Providence  exists  • 
those  who  hesitate  to  assert  this  affirm  indeed  that  a  Pro- 
vidence exists,  but  that  it  is  merely  of  a  general  charac- 
ter.    Both  the  one  and  the  other,  when  they  are  told 
that  there  is  a  Divine  Providence  operative  in  the  most 
minute  affairs  of  man's  life,  either  withhold  their  atten- 
tion altogether,  or  regard  the  subject  with  little  interest. 
Those  who  pay  no  attention  to  it,  cast  it  behind  them, 
and  go  their  way.     Those  again  who  bestow  upon  it 
some  attention  are  also  like  men  going  their  way,  and 
yet  turning  round  their  faces  merely  to  see  whether  there 
is  really  anything  in  what  they  are  told ;  and  when  they 
see  it,  saying  in  their  own  minds,  that  such  is  the  com- 
mon report.     Some  even  of  these  make  this  affirmation 
with  their  lips  and  not  from  the  heart.     Since  then  it  is 
of  importance  that  the  blindness  arising  from  ignorance, 
or  the  darkness  occasioned  by  the  absence  of  light,  should 
be  dispersed,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  see :  i.  That  the 
Lord  teaches  no  man  without  the  use  of  means,  but  by 
such  means  as  are  within  man's  roach,  derived  from  his 
hearing  and  sight,     ii.  That  the  Lord  nevertheless  pro- 
vides that  man  should  be  capable  of  being  reformed  and 
saved  by  means  of  the  religion  which  he  adopts  from 
that  source,    iii.  That  the  Lord  provides  for  every  nation 
a  universal  medium  of  salvation. 


l/«.^.   — 


n 


lU 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


71.  I.  Thai  the  Lord  teaches  no  man  without  the  use  of 
meansj  hut  hy  such  means  as  are  within  man's  reach,  de- 
rived from  his  hearing  and  sight. 

This  follows  from  what  was  said  above,  to  which  we 
must  add,  that  no  immediate  revelation  is  given  but  that 
which  has  been  given  in  the  Word;  of  this  kind  is  that 
contained  in  the  Prophets  and  Evangelists,  and  in  the 
historical  books.    Such  is  its  nature,  that  every  man  may 
be  taught  from  it,  according  to  the  affections  of  his  love, 
and  the  thoughts  of  his  understanding  derived  from  them. 
Very  little,  it  is  true,. can  they  be  taught  who  are  not, 
with  regard  to  their  life,  principled  in  good ;  but  those 
who  are  so,  can  be  taught  much,  for  they  are  taught  by 
enlightenment  from  the  Lord.     The  nature  of  the  en- 
lightenment  is   as   follows :— Light  conjoined   to   heat 
enters  by  influx  through  heaven  from  the  Lord.     This 
heat,  which  is  the  divine  love,  affects  the  will,  from 
which  man  derives  his  affection  for  good.     This  light 
again,  which  is  the   divine  wisdom,  affects  the  under- 
standing, from  which  man  derives  the  thought  of  truth. 
From  these  two  sources— the  will  and  the  understand- 
ing—all things  which  belong  to  man's  love  and  know- 
ledge are  affected,  but  those  only  which  refer  to  the  sub- 
ject are  called  forth  into  exercise,  and  required  to  be 
present.     Enlightenment  is  effected  in  this  way  by  the 
Lord  through  the  Word,  everything  in  which,  from  the 
spiritual  principle  which  it  contains,  is  in  communication 
with   heaven,  and  the  Lord  enters,  by  influx  through 
heaven,  into  that  whicli  is  at  the  time  the  subject  of  man's 
contemplation.     The  influx  is  also  continual  and  univer- 
sal,  extending  in  the  case  of  every  one   to   the  most 
minute  particulars.     It  resembles  the  heat  and  light  pro- 
ceeding from  the  sun  of  the  world,  which  operate  upon 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


115 


all  the  collective  and  several  objects  that  grow  upon  the 
earth,  so  that  they  vegetate  according  to  the  quality  of 
their  seed,  and  their  reception  of  the  sun's  influence. 
What  then  must  be  the  operation  of  that  heat  and  light, 
which  proceed  from  the  Divine  Sun,  and  from  which  all 
things  live!     To  be  enlightened  through  heaven  by  the 
Lord,  is  to  be  enlightened  through  the  Holy  Spirit ;  for 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Divine  Proceeding  from  the  Lord 
as  a  sun,  from  whom  heaven  has  its  being.     Hence  it  is 
evident  that  the  Lord  teaches  the  man  w^ho  belongs  to 
His  church  mediately  through  the  Word,  according  to 
that  love  of  his  will  which  he  acquires  by  means  of  his 
life ;  according  also  to  that  light  of  his  understanding 
which  he  derives  from  his  love,  by  means  of  his  know° 
ledge  ;  and  it  is  further  evident  that  the  teaching  cannot 
be  communicated  in  any  other  way,  because  this  is  the 
divine  order  of  influx.     This  then  is  the  reason  that  the 
Christian  religion  is  divided  into  churches,  and  into  here- 
sies within  them,  generally  and  particularly.     Those,  on 
the  other  hand,  who  are  not  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
Christian  world,  nor  in  possession  of  the  Word,  are  also 
taught  in  the  same  way ;  for  they  are  taught  by  means 
of  the  religion  which  they  have  in  place  of  the  Word, 
and  partly  derived  from  it.     The  religion  of  the  Maho- 
metans is  in  some  respects  taken  from  the  Word,  of  both 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.     In  the  case  of  others, 
their  religion  is  derived  from  an  ancient  Word  which 
was  afterwards  lost.     With  some,  again,  their  religious 
belief  has  descended  from  the  ancient  church  which  was 
in  possession  of  this  ancient  Word,  and  was,  like  the 
church  in  our  day,  divided  into  a  number  of  sects.    From 
these  sources  the  religious  tenets  of  several  nations  were 
derived ;  but  in  many  instances  they  became,  in  process  of 


116 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


time,  more  or  less  idolatrous.    They  whose  forms  of  wor- 
ship are  from  this  origin,  are  taught  by  the  Lord  medi- 
ately through  their  own   religion,  in  the  same  way  as 
Christians  are  taught  through  the  Word.     It  is  effected, 
as  we  have  said,  by  the  Lord  through  heaven,  and  thence 
by  calling  their  will  and  understanding  into  exercise. 
But  the  enlightenment,  by  means  of  the  forms  of  religion 
of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  is  not  like  that  derived 
from  the  Word.     In  the  former  case  it  resembles  the 
evening  when  the  moon  shines  with  more  or  less  bright- 
ness ;  but  in  the  latter,  it  resembles  the  day  when  thelun 
shines  with  more  or  le^s  brightness  from  the  morning  till 
mid-day.     Hence  the  Lord's  church  extending  through- 
out  the  whole  world  resembles,  with  regard  to  its  liglit, 
which  is  the  divine  wisdom,  the  day  from   mid-day  to 
evening,  and  till  night;  and,   with  regard  to  its  heat, 
which  is  the  divine  love,  the  year  from  spring  to  au- 
tumn, and  till  winter. 

72.     II.  That  the  Lord  nevertheless  provides  that  man 
should  be  capable  of  being  reformed  and  saved  by  means  of  the 
religion  which  he  adopts  from  that  source.     Throughout  the 
whole  world,  where  there  is  any  religion,  ther^  are  two 
parties  to  constitute  it.     These  are  God  and  man,  for  there 
must  be  conjunction  between  them.     There  are  also  two 
things  which  constitute  this  conjunction :  the  good  of 
love,  and  the  truth  of  foith  ;  the  former  being  derived 
immediately,  but  the  latter  mediately  from  God.     It  is 
again  the  former  by  which  God  leads  man,  and  the  latter 
by  which  man  is  led.     This  is  the  same  thing  as  was  said 
above.     The  truth  of  faith  appears  to  man  as  if  it  were 
his  own,  because  it  is  derived  from  the  things  which  he 
acquires  for  himself  as  if  from  himself.     God  therefore 
conjoins  Himself  to  man  by  means  of  the  good  of  love, 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


117 


and  man  conjoins  himself  to  God  by  means  of  the  truth 
of  faith.     Because  such  is  the  nature  of  this  conjunction, 
the  Lord  accordingly  compares  himself  to  a  bridegroom 
and  a  husband,  and  the  church  to  a  bride  and  a  wife. 
The  Lord  continually  enters  by  influx  with  the  full  good 
of  love,  though  He  cannot  be  conjoined  to  man  in  the 
full  truth  of  faith,  but  only  in  that  degree  of  it  which 
man  possesses,  and  this  varies.     The  fulness  may  exist 
in  a  greater  degree  with  those  who  live  in  countries  pos- 
sessed  of  the  Word,  and  less  fully  with  those  who  live 
where  the  Word  is   unknown  ;  but  still  it  varies  both 
with  the  one  and  the  other,  according  to  their  knowledge, 
and  their  life  in  agreement  with  it.     Hence  it  is,  that°it 
may  be  greater  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  not  the 
Word,  than  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  it.     The  con- 
junction of  God  with  man,  and  of  man  with  God,  is 
taught  in  the  two  Tables  which  were  written  with  'the 
finger  of  God,  and  are  called  the  Tables  of  the  Covenant, 
the  Testimony  and  the  Law.     In  the  one  is  God,  in  the 
other  man.     These  Tables  are  found  with  all  nations  with 
whom  there  is  any  religion.     All  nations  know  from  the 
first  Table,  that  God  is  to  be  acknowledged  ;  that  He  is 
to  be  hallowed  and  worshipped.     They  know  from  the 
other  Table,  that  stealing  is  not  to  be  committed,  either 
openly,  or  covertly  by  means  of  wicked  devices;    nor 
adultery,  nor  murder,  either  by  the  open  violence  of  the 
hand,   or  by  the  secret  hatred  of  the  heart ;    nor  false 
witness  borne,  either  in  the  presence  of  a  judge,  or  before 
the  world ;  and  further,  that  these  crimes  ought  not  to 
exist  even  in  the  will.     Man  knows  from  his  Table  the 
evils  which  are  to  be  shunned,  and  in  proportion  as  he 
knows  them  and  shuns  them,  God  conjoins  him  to  Him- 
self, and  enables  him  from  His  Table  to  acknowledge 


118 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


Him,  to  hallow  Him,  and  to  worship  Him.     He  enables 
him  further  to  put  away  evils  from  his  will,  and  so  far  as 
he  does  so,  to  become  acquainted  with  truths  in  their 
fulness.     The  two  Tables  are  thus  conjoined  in  man,  the 
Table  of  God  being  set  above  the  Table  of  man, 'and 
they  are  put  as  one  into  the   Ark,  and  above  it  is  the 
mercy-seat,  which  is  the  Lord ;   above   the  mercy-seat 
again  are  the  two  Cherubim,  which  are  the  Word  and 
that  which  proceeds  from  it,  and  in  the  Word  the  Lord 
talks  with  man,  as  He  did  with  Moses  and  Aaron  between 
the  Cherubim.     Since  then  the  xionjunction  of  the  Lord 
with  man,  and  of  man  with  the  Lord,  is  produced   by 
these  means,  it  is  evident  that  every  one  who  is  acquainted 
with  them,  and  fives  according  to  them,  in  agreement 
not  only  with  the  civil  and  moral  law,  but  also  with  the 
Divine  law,  is  saved ;  thus  every  one  in  his  own  religion 
whether  he-  is  a  Christian,  a  ^Mahometan,  or  a  heathen. 
And  what  is  more,  the  man  who  embodies  these  princi- 
ples in  his  life,  from  a  religious  motive,  although  in  the 
world  he  knows  nothing  either  of  the  Lord  or  of  the 
Word,  is  in  that  state  with  regard  to  his  spirit,  that  from 
his  will  he  desires  to  be  wise.     He  is  therefore  after  death 
trained  by  the  angels,  and  acknowledges  the  Lord ;  he 
also  i:ecei  ves  truths  according  to  his  affection,  and  becomes 
an  angel.     Every  one  of  this  description  resembles  a  man 
who  dies   an   infant ;    for  he  is   led  by  the  Lord,  and 
brought  up  by  the  angels.     Those  who  have  no  religious 
worship,  in  consequence  of  ignorance  arising  from  "their 
being  born  in  this  or  that  country,  are  also  trained  after 
death  like  infants,  and  according  to  their  civil  and  moral 
life  they  receive  the  means  of  salvation.     I  have  seen 
such  persons,  and  at  first  they  had  not  the  appearance  of 
men  ;  but  afterwards  I  saw  them  as  men  and  heard  them 


THE   ATHAKASIAN  CREED. 


119 


speak  sensibly  in  accordance  with  the  commandments  of 
the  decalogue.  To  train  such  persons  is  the  angels'  inmost 
joy.  From  these  observations  it  is  now  evident  that  the 
Lord  provides  that  every  man  should  be  capable  of  bei  no- 
saveS.  ° 

78.     Til.  That  the  Lord  provi^s  for  every  nation  a  uni- 
versal medium  of  salvation. 

It  is  evident  from  what  was  said  above,  that  man,  in 
whatever  religion  he  lives,  is  capable  of  being  saved. 
For  he  is  acquainted  with   the  evils  and  the°folsities 
arising  from  them,  which  are  to  be  shunned,  and  when 
he  shuns  them,  he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  goods 
which  are  to  be  done,  and  the  truths  which  are  to  be 
believed.     The  goods  which  he  does  and  the  truths  which 
he  believes,  before  he  has  shunned  evils,  are  not  goods 
and  truths  in  themselves,  because  they  are  from  man, 
and  not  from   the   Lord.     The   reason  that  before  this 
they  are  not  goods  and  truths  in  themselves  is,  that  they 
have  no  life  in  man.     The  man  who  knows  all  the  goods 
and  truths  that  are  possible  to  be  known,  and  docs  not 
shun  evils,  knows  nothing  ;  for  his  evils  absorb  them  and 
cast  them  out,  and  he  becomes  feeble  in  his  understanding, 
not  indeed  in  the  world,  but  after  his  departure  from  ii 
When  therefore  any  man,  in  any  religion  whatever,  is- 
acquainted  both  with  the  evils  and  the  falsities  arising 
from  them,  which  he  is  to  shun,  and  as  he  shuns  them 
becomes  acquainted  with  the  goods  which  he  is  to  do, 
and  the  truths  which  he  is  to  believe,  it  is  evident  that 
a   universal   medium   of  salvation    has   been   provided 
by  the  Lord,  in    the  case  of  every   nation  possessing 
a  rehgion.     This  medium  exists  in  all  its  fulness  with 
Christians;    it  exists  also,  though   not  in  fulness,  with 
Mahometans  and  heathens.     All  other  points  which  form 


120 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


the  distinction  between  them,  are  either  matters  of 
ceremony,  in  themselves  indifferent,  or  they  are  goods 
and  truths  which  may  be  either  done  and  believed  or 
not,  and  man  yet  be  saved.  In  each  case  man  sees  the 
quality  of  goods  and  .truths,  after  evils  are  removed ; 
the  Christian  seeing  it  from  the  Word,  the  Mahometan 
from  the  Koran,  and  the  heathen  from  his  religion.  The 
Christian  sees  from  the  Word  that  God  is  one ;  that  the 
Lord  is  the  Saviour  of  the  world;  that  all  good  and 
truth,  in  reality  such,  are  from  God,  and  nothing  from 
man ;  that  Baptism  and  the  Holy  Supper  are  of  divine 
appointment ;  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell ;  that 
there  is  a  life  after  death  ;  that  the  man  who  does  good 
is  admitted  into  heaven,  but  that  the  man  who  does  evil 
is  removed  to  hell.  The  Christian  believes  these  things 
from  a  principle  of  truth,  and  does  them  from  a  princi- 
ple of  love,  if  he  is  not  living  in  evil.  All  other  points 
which  are  not  in  agreement  with  these  and  the  decalogue, 
he  is  at  liberty  to  omit.  The  Mahometan  sees  from  the 
Koran,  that  God  is  one ;  that  the  Lord  is  the  Son  of 
God  ;  that  all  good  is  from  God  ;  that  there  is  a  heaven 
and  a  hell ;  that  there  is  a  life  after  death,  and  that 
the  evils  forbidden  in  the  decalogue  are  to  be  shunned ; 
if  he  acts  according  to  the  latter,  and  believes  the  former, 
he  is  also  saved.  The  heathen  sees  from  his  religion, 
that  there  is  a  God,  that  he  is  to  be  hallowed  and 
worshipped,  that  good  proceeds  from  Him  ;  that  there  is 
a  heaven  and  a  hell ;  that  there  is  a  life  after  death  ;  that 
the  evils  forbidden  in  the  decalogue  are  to  be  shunned  ; 
if  he  acts  according  to  the  latter,  and  believes  the  former, 
he  is  saved.  And  because  most  of  the  heathen  perceive 
God  as  a  man,  and  the  God-man  is  the  Lord,  therefore 
after  death,  when  they  are  trained  by  the  angels,  they 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


121 


acknowledge  the  Lord,  and  afterwards  receive  truths 
from  hmi,  of  which  they  were  before  ignorant.  That 
they  have  not  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the  Holv 
Supper,  IS  no  ground  of  condemnation  ;  these  ordinances 

the  Word  from  which  the  Lord  is  known ;  for  they  are 
the  symbols   of  His   Church,  and  the  attestation   and 
assurance  that  those  who  believe  and  live  according  to 
His  commandments  in  the  Word  are  saved. 
_  74.  Some  observations  shall  now  be  made  on  the  sub- 
ject  of  spirits  speaking  with  man.     Many  persons  are 
under  the  belief  that  man  may  be  taught  by  God  by 
means  of  spirits  speaking  with  him.     But  those  who 
believe  this,  and  foster  the  belief  in  their  will,  are  not 
aware  that  it  is  connected  with  danger  to  their  souls. 
Man  IS,  as  to  his  spirit,  as  long  as  he  lives  in  the  world 
^n  the  m.dst  of  spirits ;  but  the  spirits  are  not  aware  that 
they  are  near  man,  nor  is  man  aware   that  he   is  in 
connexion   with   spirits.     The  reason  is,  that   they  are 
conjoined  immediately  as  to  the  affections  of  the  will 
and  mediately  as  to  the  thoughts  of  the  understandin<.' 
for  man  thinks  naturally,  but  spirits  think  spiritually' 
and  further,  natural  thought  and  spiritual  make  one  onlv 
by  correspondences.     It  is  this  that  prevents  men  and 
spirits  from  knowing  anything  of  each  other.    But  as 
soon  as  spirits  begin  to  speak  with  man,  they  leave  their 
own  spiritual  state  and  enter  into  man's  natural  state  • 
and  being  then  aware  that  they  are  with  man,  they  con- 
join themselves  with  the  thoughts  of  his  affection,  and 
from  them  convei-se  with  him.     They  cannot  enter  into 
anything  but  man's  natural  state,  for  similar  affection 
with  the  thought  derived  from  it  effects  conjunction  in 
all  cases,  but  dissimilar  affection  causes  separation.     It  is 


122 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


from  this  circumstance  that  when  a  spirit  speaks,  he  is 
in  the  same  principles  as  the  man  with  whom  he  speaks, 
whether  those  principles  are  true  or  false ;  and  further 
that  he  calls  them  into  activity,  and  by  means  of  his  own 
affection  conjoined  to  that  of  the  man  strongly  confirms 
them.     Hence  it  is  evident  that  only  similar  spirits  speak 
with  man,  or  operate  manifestly  upon  him  ;  for  manifest 
operation  coincides  with  speech.     For  this  reason  none 
but  enthusiastic  spirits  speak  with  enthusiasts;  none  but 
Quaker  spirits  operate   upon   Quakers  ;    or   Moravian 
spirits  upon  Moravians.    The  case  would  be  similar  with 
Arians,  Socinians,  and  other  sectarians.     All  spirits  that 
speak  with  man  were  once  men  in  the  world,  and  were 
then  of  the  same  character.     I  have  been  enabled  by 
repeated  experience  to  know  that  such  is  the  case.     And 
what  moreover  is  ridiculous  is,  that  when  a  man  imagines 
that   the  spirit'  speaking  with  him,  or  operating  upon 
him,  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  spirit  also  himself  believes 
that  he  is  so.     This  is  common  in  the  case  of  enthusiastic 
spirits.     The  danger  is  thus  evident  to  which  a  man  is 
exposed  who  speaks  with  spirits,  or  manifestly  perceives 
their  operation.     For  he  is  ignorant  of  the  quality  of  his 
own  affection,  whether  it  is  good  or  evil,  or  with  what 
other  affections  it  is  conjoined ;  and  if  he  has  a  conceit 
of  his  own  intelligence,  the  spirit  humors  every  thought 
which  proceeds  from  his  affection.     So  also  if  any  one 
has  a  partiality  for  certain  principles  fanned  into  a  flame 
by  any  fire  existing  amongst  those  who  are  not  in  truths 
from  any  genuine  affection,  the  consequences  are  similar. 
For,  when  a  spirit  from    a  similar  affection  humors   a 
raan-s  thoughts  or  principles,   the  one  then   leads  the 
other,  like  the  blind  leading  the  blind,  until  they  both 
fall  into  the  ditch.   The  Pythonic  diviners— that  is,  those 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED.  123 

who  were  believed  to  be  inspired  by  Apollo,  the  Pythian 
god-were  formerlj  of  this  description ;  the  Magi  also  in 
Egypt  and  Babel ;  and  on  account  of  their  conversing 
with  spirits,  and  the  operation  of  the  spirits  upon  them 
being  openly  felt,  were  both  called  wise.  But  it  was  by 
this  means  that  the  worship  of  God  was  converted  into 
the  worship  of  demons,  and  the  church  perished.  Such 
means  of  intercourse  were  accordingly  forbidden  to  the 
children  of  Israel  on  pain  of  death. 

76.  The  case  is  otherwise  with  those  whom  the  Lord 
leads.     He  leads  those  who  love  and  will  truths  from 
Himself.     They  are  enlightened   when   they  read   the 
Word,  for  the  Lord  is  present  in  it,  and  speaks  with 
every  one  according  to  his  capacity.     If  persons  of  this 
description  hear  the  speech  which  proceeds  from  spirits, 
as  IS  also  sometimes  the  case,  they  are  not  taught  by  it' 
but  are  led  with  such  precaution,  that  in  each  case  the 
man  is  still  left  to  himself.    For,  as  was  before  observed 
every  man  is  led  by  the  Lord  through  his  affections,  and 
thinks  from  them,  as  if  from  himself,  in  freedom.     If  the 
case  were  otherwise,  he  would  be  incapable  of  reforma- 
tion, and  could  not  possibly  be  enlightened.     Men  are 
however,  enlightened  in  various  degrees,  each  accordin<^ 
to  the  quality  of  his  affection,  and  his  intelligence  derived 
from  it.     They  who  are  in  the  spiritual  affection  of  truth 
are  elevated  into  the  light  of  heaven  to  such  a  degree 
that  they  perceive  the  enlightenment.     I  have  been  per- 
mitted to  see  this  enlightenment,  and  from  it  to  perceive 
distinctly  that  which  proceeds  from  the  Lord,  and  that 
which  proceeds  from  the  angels ;  that  which  proceeds  from 
the  Lord  is  written,  but  not  so  that  which  proceeds  from 
the  angels.     I  have,  besides,  been  permitted  to  converse 
with  the  angels,  as  man  converses  with  man,  and  also  to 


124 


THE    ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


125 


II 


see  the  objects  which  are  in  heaven,  and  those  which  are 
in  hell.  The  reason  of  this  was,  that  the  end  of  the 
present  church  is  approaching,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
New  Church  is  at  hand,  which  will  be  the  New  Jeru- 
salem. It  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  revealed  to  this 
church  that  the  Lord  governs  the  universe,  both  heaven 
and  the  world ;  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  hell,  and 
what  is  the  quality  of  each  ;  that  men  live  also  as  men 
after  death  ;  in  heaven,  those  who  are  led  by  the  Lord, 
but  in  hell,  those  who  are  guided  by  themselves ;  that 
the  Word  is  the  Divine  Principle  itself  of  the  Lord  on 
the  earth  ;  and  further,  that  the  last  judgment  is  accom- 
plished, lest  man  should  be  for  ever  expecting  it  to  take 
place  in  his  own  world  ;  besides  many  other  things 
relating  to  the  light  which  is  now  arising  after  the 
darkness. 

76.  The  tenth  law  of  the  Divine  Providence  is:  That 
man  from  his  ow7i  prudence  has  led  hwiself  to  eminence 
and  opidence,  ivheti  they  lead  astray^  for  he  is  led  of  the 
Divine  Providence  to  such  things  as  do  not  lead  astray^  but 
are  serviceable  with  regard  to  eternal  life;  for  all  the  dealings 
of  the  Divine  Providence  in  relation  to  him  regard  ivhat  is 
eternal^  because  the  life  which  is  God^  and  from  which  man 
is  man^  is  eternal.  There  are  two  things  which  principally 
affect  the  minds  (animos)  of  men,  viz.,  eminence  and 
opulence.  The  former  originates  in  the  love  of  glory 
and  honors,  the  latter  in  the  love  of  money  and  pos- 
sessions. They  principally  affect  the  mind,  because  they 
specially  belong  to  the  natural  man,  and  hence  merely 
natural  men  have  no  other  notion  regarding  them  than 
that  they  are  real  blessings,  which  proceed  from  God, 
though  they  may  possibly  be  curses,  as  may  be  clearly 
inferred  from  the  fact,  that  they  are  found  in  the  posses- 


sion of  the  evil  as  well  as  of  the  good.     The  eminent 
and  the  opulent  have  been  seen  by  me  in  the  heavens, 
and  also  in  the  hells,  and  therefore,  as  has  been  observed, 
when  eminence  and  opulence  do  not  lead  astray,  they 
proceed   from  God;    but  when   they   do  so,   they  are 
derived  from  hell.     The  reason  that  man  does  not  in  the 
world  distinguish  whether  they  are  the  gifts  of  heaven, 
or  whether  they  are  derived  from  hell,  is,  that  they  can- 
not be  distinguished  by  the  natural  man  separate  from 
the  spiritual ;  they  may  however  be  distinguished  by  the 
spiritual  man  in  the  natural,  but  even  this  with  difficulty, 
because  the  natural  man  is  so  thoroughly  taught  from 
infancy  to  counterfeit  the  spiritual  man.     Hence  it  is, 
that  he  not  only  affirms,  but  can  also  persuade  himself  to 
believe,  that  the  uses  which  he  performs  to  the  church, 
to  his  country,  to  society  and  his  fellow-citizens,  and  thus 
to  his  neighbor,  are  really  performed  for  their  sakes, 
although  probably  the  ends  which  he  had  in  view  in  the 
performance  of  them  were  himself  and  the  world.     He 
is  in  this  state  of  blindness  because  he  has  not  put  away 
evils  from  himself  by  means  of  any  combat  with  them  ; 
for  as  long  as  they  remain,  he  cannot  from  his  spiritual 
principle  see  anything  in  his   natural  principle.     He  is 
like  a  man  in  a  dream,  who  imagines  himself  awake,  or 
like  a  bird  of  night,  that  regards  the  darkness  as.  light. 
Such  is  the  natural  man,  when  the  gate  of  heavenly 
light  is  closed ;  this  light  being  the  spiritual  principle 
which  enlightens  him.     Since  then  it  is  of  the  greatest 
moment  that  he  should  know  whether  eminence   and 
opulence,  the  love  of  glory  and    honor,   the  love,  of 
money  and  possessions,  are  ends  or  means — because  if 
they  are  the  former,  they  are  curses,  but  if  the  latter, 
they  are  blessings — we  shall  first  treat  of  ends  and  means. 


126 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


127 


77.  The  end,  the  means  or  causes,  and  the  effect,  are 
also  called  the  principal  end,  the  intermediate  ends,  and 
the  ultimate  end.  The  latter  are  called  ends,  because 
the  principal  end,  which  is  everything  in  them — both 
their  esse  and  soul — produces  them.  The  principal  end 
is  man's  will's  love,  the  intermediate  ends  are  subordinate 
loves,  and  the  ultimate  end  is  the  will's  love  existing  as 
it  were  in  its  own  effigy.  Since  the  principal  end  is  the 
will's  love,  it  follows  that  the  intermediate  ends,  because 
they  are  subordinate  loves,  are  foreseen,  provided,  and 
produced,  through  the  understanding;  and  that  the 
ultimate  end  is  the  use  foreseen,  provided,  and  produced 
by  the  will's  love,  through  the  understanding;  for  every- 
thing that  love  produces  is  use.  It  is  necessary  to  pre- 
mise this,  that  the  assertion  just  made  may  be  under- 
stood, viz.,  that  eminence  and  opulence  may  be  blessings, 
and  that  they  may  also  be  curses. 

"78.  Now  since  the  end,  which  is  man's  will's  love, 
provides  or  procures  for  itself,  through  the  understanding, 
the  means  through  which  it  may  exist,  the  ultimate  end, 
to  which  it  progresses  through  the  means,  is  the  existing 
end;  and  since  this  end  is  use,  it  follows  that  the  end 
loves  the  means,  when  they  perform  this  use,  and  that, 
if  they  do  not  perform  it,  it  does  not  love  them,  but 
rejects  them,  and  through  the  understanding  j^rovides  or 
procures  for  itself  others.  Hence  the  quality  of  the  man 
is  evident,  whose  principal  end  is  the  love  of  eminence, 
that  is,  the  love  of  glory  and  honors ;  or  the  love  of 
opulence,  that  is,  the  love  of  money  and  possessions ; 
that  he  regards,  for  instance,  all  means  as  subservient  to 
him  for  the  attainment  of  the  ultimate  end,  which  is  the 
existing  love  [i  e.,  the  love  in  possession  of  its  object], 
and  this  is  use  to  himself.     Take  ajs  an  example  the  priest 


whose  principal  end  is  the  love  of  money  or  possessions. 
His  means  are  the  ministry,  the  Word,  his  doctrine,  his 
erudition,  and  his  preaching  founded  upon  them,  and 
hence  the  instruction  of  the  members  of  the  church,  tbuir 
reformation  and  salvation.     These  means  are  estimated 
by  him  according  to  the  end  and  for  the  sake  of  it,  but 
still  they  are  not  loved — although  in  some  cases  they 
appear  as  if  they  were  so — for  opulence  is  the  object  of 
his  love,  because  it  is  the  first  and  the  ultimate  end,  and 
this  end  is,  as  was  observed,  everything  in  the  means. 
He  alleges  indeed  that  his  will  is  that  the  members  of  the 
church  should  be  instructed,  reformed,  and  saved;  but 
because  he  speaks  of  these  objects,  while  he  is  at  the 
same  time  influenced  by  opulence  as  an  end,  they  form 
no  part  of  his  love;  they  are  only  the  means  of  acquiring 
reputation  and  gain  on  their  account.     The  case  of  the 
priest  is  similar,  whose  principal  end  is  the  love  of  pre- 
eminence over  others ;  and  if  gain  or  honor  is  removed 
from  the  means,  it  will  become  apparent.     The  case  is 
quite  altered  if  the  instruction,  the  reformation,  and  the 
salvation  of  souls,  are  the  principal  end,  while  opulence 
and  eminence  are  the  means ;  for  the  priest  is  then  an 
entirely  different  character.     In  this  case  he  is  spiritual, 
while  in  the  former  case  he  was  natural.     In  the  former 
instance  opulence  and  eminence  are  blessings,  but  in  the 
latter  they  are  curses.     It  may  be  shown  by  much  expe- 
rience derived  from  the  spiritual  world  that  the  case  is 
so.     Many  have  been  there  seen  and  heard  who  affirmed 
that  they  had  taught  and  written,  and  produced  reforma- 
tion, but  when  the  end  or  their  will's  love  was  made 
apparent,  it  was  then  plain  that  they  did  all  for  the  sake 
of  themselves  and  the  world,  and  nothing  for  the  sake 
of  God  and  their  neighbor;  that  they  even  cursed  the 


128 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


one  and  injured  the  other.     Such  are  those  who  are 
meant    in    Matthew   vii.  22,   23;    and   in   Luke   xiii 

26,  27. 

79.  Let  us  take  another  example,  in  the  case  of  a  king, 
a  prince,  a  consul,  a  governor,  or  an  official,  whose  prin- 
cipal end  is  the  love  of  rule,  and  the  means  all  things 
connected  with  their  own  sway,  and  with  the  manage- 
ment and  discharge  of  their  office.      The  uses  which  per- 
sons  of  this  kind  perform,  are  not  performed  from  any 
regard  to  the  good  of  the  kingdom,  the  commonwealth, 
the  country,  society,  or  their  fellow-citizens,  but  for  the 
sake  of  the  delight  of  ruling,  thus  for  the  sake  of  them- 
selves.    Eeal  uses  are  not  in  their  estimation  uses ;  their 
uses  minister  to  their  pride,  and  they  perform  them  for 
the  sake  of  appearance  and  distinction,  without  any  real 
love  for  them  ;  they  extol  them,  and  still  treat  them  with 
contempt,  just  as  a  master  does  his  slaves.     I  have  seen 
such  characters  after  death,  and  have  regarded  them  with 
astonishment.    They  were  devils  amongst  fiery  devils ;  for 
the  love  of  rule,  when  it  is  the  principal  end,  is  the  very 
fire  of  hell.     I  have  seen  others  also  whose  principal  end 
was  not  the  love  of  rule,  but  the  love  of  God  and  their 
neighbor,   which  is  the  love  of  uses ;  and  these  were 
angels  to  whom  was  given   dominion  in  the   heavens. 
From  these  cases,  again,  it  is  evident  that  eminence  may 
be  either  a  blessing  or  a  curse ;  that  when  it  is  a  bless- 
ing, it  is  from  the  Lord,  but  when  it  is  a  curse,  it  is  from 
the  devil.     The  nature  and  quality  of  the  love  of  rule, 
when  it  is  the  principal  end,  may  be  seen  by  every  wise 
man,  from  that  kingdom  which  is  meant  in  the  Word  by 
Babel,  in  that  it  has  set  its  throne  in  the  heavens  above 
the  Lord,  arrogating  to  itself  all  His  power.     Hence  it 
has  abolished  the  divine  means  of  worship,  which  are 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED.  129 

derived  from  the  Lord  through  the  Word,  and  in  their 
stead  has  established  such  as  are  demoniacal,  consisting 
in  the  adorations  offisred  to  men  living  and  dead,  to 
sepulchres  also,  to  dead  bodies,  and  to  bones.  This 
kingdom  is  described  as  Lucifer  in  Isaiah  xiv.  4-24 ; 
those  however  who  have  exercised  this  dominion  from 
the  love  of  it,  are  designated  by  this  name,  but  not  so 
the  rest. 

80.  Since  the  love  of  rule  and  the  love  of  wealth  uni- 
versally prevail  in  the  Christian  world,  and  these  loves 
are  at  the  present  day  so  deeply  inrooted,  that  mankind 
are  not  aware  that  they  in  any  case  lead  astray,  it  is 
therefore  of  importance  that  their  true  qualities  should 
be  described.     They  lead  astray  every  man  who  does  not 
shun  evils  on  the  ground  that  they  are  sins ;  for  he  who 
does  not  shun  evils  on  this  ground  does  not  fear  God,  and 
therefore  remains  a  natural  man.     And  because  the  loves 
which  belong  to  the  natural  man  are  the  love  of  rule 
and  the  love  of  wealth,  he  therefore  does  not  see,  with 
any  interior  acknowledgment,  the  nature  or  quality  of 
these  loves  in  his  own  case.     He  does  not  see  it  unless 
he  is  reformed,  and  he  is  reformed  only  by  means  of 
combat  against  evils.     It  is  believed  that  reformation  is 
effected  by  means  of  faith  ;  but  the  faith  of  God  does  not 
precede  such  combat.  -  When  man  is  reformed  in  this 
way,  light  then  enters  by  influx  from  the  Lord  through 
heaven,  imparting  to  him  both  the  inclination  and  the 
power  to  see  the  quality  of  these  loves,  whether  they  rule 
or  serve  in  his  case,  thus  whether  they  are  regarded  in 
the  first  place,  and  thus  form  as  it  were  the  head ;  or 
whether  they  are  regarded  in  the  second  place,  and  thus 
form  as  it  were  the  feet.     In  the  one  case  they  lead  astray 
and  become  curses;  in  the  other,  so  far  from  leading 

6* 


130 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


astray,  they  become  blessings.  I  can  solemnly  affirm 
that  all  those  with  whom  the  love  of  rule  occupies  the 
first  place  are  inwardly  devils.  This  love  is  known  from 
the  gratification  which  it  affords,  for  this  gratification 
exceeds  every  other  in  the  life  of  men.  It  is  continually 
exhaled  from  hell,  and  the  exhalation  appears  like  the 
fire  of  a  large  furnace,  kindling  the  liearts  of  men  whom 
the  Lord  does  not  protect ;  for  the  Lord  protects  all  who 
are  reformed.  The  Lord  notwithstanding  leads  even  the 
former,  but  it  is  in  hell ;  in  the  world  however  He  leads 
them,  though  it  is  only  by  means  of  outward  restraints, 
such  as  the  fears  produced  by  the  penalties  of  the  law, 
by  the  loss  of  reputation,  of  honor,  of  gain,  and  of  the 
pleasures  arising  from  them ;  and  also  by  means  of 
remuneration.  But  still  He  cannot  lead  them  out  of 
hell,  because  the  love  of  rule  does  not  admit  of  internal 
restraints,  such  as  the  fears  which  relate  to  God,  and 
the  affections  which  belong  to  goodness  and  truth — these 
being  the  means  by  which  the  Lord  leads  all  who  follow, 
both  to  heaven  and  in  heaven. 

81.  We  shall  now  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  subject 
that  man  is  led  of  the  Divine  Providence  to  such  things 
as  do  not  lead  astray,  but  are  serviceable  to  him  with 
reference  to  eternal  life,  for  these  things  also  refer  to  emi- 
nence and  opulence.  It  may  be.  shown  that  this  is  the 
case  from  what  has  been  witnessed  by  me  in  the  heavens. 
The  heavens  are  divided  into  societies,  in  each  of  which 
there  are  the  eminent  and  the  opulent ;  the  eminent  being 
in  such  glory,  and  the  opulent  in  such  abundance,  that 
the  glory  and  the  abundance  of  this  world  are,  with 
respect  to  them,  almost  as  nothing.  All  the  eminent 
however  are  possessed  of  wisdom,  and  all  the  opulent  of 
knowledge,  because  their  eminence  originates  in  their 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


131 


wisdom,  and  their  opulence  in  their  knowledge.     This 
eminence  and  opulence  may  be  acquired  in  the  world, 
both  by  those  who  are  eminent  and  opulent  in  it,  and 
also  by  those  who  are  not  so ;  for  they  are  acquired  by 
all  who  love  wisdom  and  knowledge.     To  love  wisdom 
is^  to  love  real   uses,  and  to  love  knowledge  is  to  love 
acquaintance  with  goodness  and  troth  for  the  sake  of 
these  uses.     When  uses  are  loved  in  preference  to  self 
and  the  world,  and  acquaintance  with  goodness  and  truth 
is  loved  for  the  sake  of  these  uses,  they  then  occupy  the 
first  place,  eminence  and  opulence  the  second.     This  is 
the  case  with  all  who  are  eminent  and  opulent  in  the 
heavens ;  from  wisdom  they  regard  the  eminence,  and 
from  knowledge  the  opulence,  in  which  they  live,  pre- 
cisely as  a  mail  regards  his  garments.  ~"^ 
82.  The  eminence  and  opulence  of  the  angels  of  heaven 
shall  be  also  described.     There  are  in  the  societies  of 
heaven  superior  and  inferior  governors,  all  arranged  by 
the  Lord,  and  placed  in  subordination  to  each  other, 
according  to  their  wisdom  and  intelligence.     Their  chief, 
who  excels  the  rest  in  wisdom,  dwells  in  the  midst  of 
them,  in  a  palace  so  magnificent,  that  nothing  in  the 
world  can  be  compared  to  it.     Its  architectural  features 
are  so  astonishing  that  I  can  with  truth  assert  that  they 
cannot,  even  to  a  hundredth  part,  be  described  in  natural 
language ;  for  it  is  Art  herself  there  realizing  her  own 
skill.     In  the  interior  of  the  palace  are  apartments  and 
chambers,  all  the  furniture  and  ornaments  of  which  are 
bright  with  gold  and  various  precious  stones,  and  in  such 
forms  as  can  be  imitated  by  no  artist  in  the  world,  either 
in  painting  or  sculpture.     What  again  is  marvellous  is, 
that  every  individual  thing,  even  to  objects  the  most 
minute,  is  adapted  for  use.     Every  one  who  enters  sees 


132 


THE   ATHAN ASIAN    CREED. 


the  use  for  which  they  are  designed,  and  perceives  it  too 
as  if  in  each  case  it  transpired  through  its  own  form. 
But  no  wise  man  remains  long  with  his  eye  fixed  upon 
the  forms ;  he  rather  in  mind  contemplates  the  uses, 
because  these  gratify  his  wisdom.  Around  the  palace 
are  porticos,  paradisiacal  gardens,  and  smaller  palaces, 
each  in  itself  a  heavenly  spot  clad  in  forms  of  beauty 
peculiar  to  itself.  Besides  these  and  many  other  magnifi- 
cent objects,  there  are  troops  of  attendant  guards,  every 
member  of  them  clad  in  splendid  garments.  The  subor- 
dinate governors  enjoy  similar  magnificence  and  splen- 
dor, according  to  the  degrees  of  their  wisdom,  and  their 
wisdom  again  is  according  to  the  degrees  of  their  love  of 
uses.  Such  objects  belong  not  only  to  those  in  authority, 
but  also  to  the  inhabitants,  all  of  whom  love  uses,  and 
perform  them  by  means  of  various  occupations.  There 
are  however  but  few  things  which  it  is  possible  to  describe, 
while  those  which  surpass  description  are  innumerable. 
The  latter,  being  m  their  origin  spiritual,  do  not  fall 
within  the  ideas  of  the  natural  man,  and  therefore  not 
within  any  expressions  of  his  language  beyond  these, 
that  wisdom  builds  herself  fi^habitation,  making  it_  suit- 
able Jor  herself,  and  that  then  everything  which  lies  most 
deeply  concealed  in  ariy  science,  or  in  any  _art,  hastens  to 
her  assistance  and  does  her  bidding.  This  is  now  written, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  known  that  all  things  in  the 
heavens  also  refer  to  eminence  and  opulence,  but  that 
there  eminence  is  the  eminence  of  wisdom,  and  opulence 
the  opulence  of  knowledge  ;  and  that  such  are  the  objects 
to  which  man,  by  means  of  the  Divine  Providence,  is  led 
by  the  Lord. 

83.  We  shall  now  make  some  observations  concernins: 
the  uses  by  means  of  which  men  and  angels  attain  wis- 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


133 


dom.  To  love  uses  is  the  same  thing  as  to  love  our 
neighbor,  use  in  the  spiritual  sense  being  our  neighbor. 
This  may  be  seen  from  the  feet,  that  every  man  loves 
■another,  not  for  his  face  aM  person,  but  for  his  will 
and  understanding ;  for  h^  loves  t]ie  man  who  is  sound 
i^  both  these  faculties,  rather  than  the  man^who  is  faulty 
either  in  the  one  or  the  other.  And  because  man  is  loved 
or  iiot  loved  for  these  faculties,  itjbllows  that  the  neigh- 
bor Js  that  property  from  which  every  one  is  a  man, 
that  is,  his  spiritual  nature.  If  you  were  to  place  Ten 
men  before  you,  that  you  might  select  one  from  amongst 
tliem  as  your  colleague  in  any  office  or  matter  of  business, 
should  you  not  examine  them  carefully,  and  select  the 
one  who  came  nearest^  to  your  wishes  with  regard  to 
the  use  which  you  required?  This  man  then  would 
be  your  neighbor  in  preference  to  the  rest,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  your  love.  Or  again,  suppose  you  were  to  ap- 
proach ten  maidens  for  the  purpose  of  making  choice 
of  one  of  them  as  your  wife,  should  you  not  carefully 
examine  the  qualifications  of  each,  and  betroth,  if  she 
consented,  the  one  who  became  the  object  of  your  affec- 
tion ?  She  would  then  be  your  neighbor  in  preference 
to  the  rest.  Were  you  to  say  in  your  own  mind,  that 
every  man  alike  is  your  neighbor,  and  therefore  to  be 
loved  without  distinction  ;  in  this  case,  a  devil  incarnate 
might  be  loved  wuth  as  much  affection  as  an  angel  in 
human  form,  or  an  abandoned  woman  equally  with  a 
chaste  virgin.     The  reason  that  use  is  a  man's  neighbor 

*  The  Latin  term  for  neighbor  is  proximus,  signifying  nearest;  for 
whatever  is  nearest  to  man  is  properly  his  neighbor.  Since  therefore 
the  principle  of  good  or  use  is  nearer  to  him  than  anything  else,  it  is 
pre-eminently  his  neighbor.  This  idea  of  proximity  is  not  so  fully  sug- 
gested by  the  English  term. — Translator. 


134 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


is,  that  every  man  is  valued  and  loved  not  for  his  under- 
standing and  will  alone,  but  for  the  uses  which  he  per- 
forms, or  is  able  to  perform,  from  them.  Hence  a  man  of 
use  is  a  man  according  to  his  use ;  and  a  man  of  no  use 
is  a  man  who  is  in  reality  not  a  man  ;  for  of  him  it  is  said 
that  he  is  useful  for  nothing.  For,  although  such  a  man 
is  tolerated  in  a  civil  community  in  the  world,  whilst  he 
lives  in  accordance  with  his  own  principle,  still,  after 
death,  when  he  becomes  a  spirit,  he  is  cast  out  into  a 
desert.  Man  is  therefore  of  the  same  quality  or  character 
as  his  use.  There  are  however  manifold  uses,  which  may 
be  divided  generally  into  heavenly  and  infernal.  Heav- 
enly uses  are  those  which  promote  more  or  less  the  wel- 
fare of  the  church,  of  our  country,  of  society,  and  of  our 
fellow-citizen,  and  which  do  this  more  nearly  or  more 
remotely  for  the  sake  of  such  objects  as  ends.  Infernal 
uses,  on  the  contrary,  are  those  which  minister  to  self,  and 
to  such  persons  or  objects  as  are  connected  with  self; 
and  when  they  do  promote  the  welfare  of  the  church,  of 
country,  of  society,  or  of  a  fellow-citizen,  it  is  not  for  the 
sake  of  them  as  ends,  but  for  the  sake  of  self  as  an  end. 
It  is  nevertheless  the  duty  of  every  one,  from  a  principle 
of  love,  though  not  from  self-love,  to  provide  for  himself 
and  those  dependent  on  him,  the  necessaries  and  requi- 
sites of  life.  When  a  man  loves  uses  in  the  first  place 
by  doing  them,  and  in  the  second  place  loves  the  world 
and  himself,  the  former  is  then  his  spiritual  principle,  and 
the  latter  his  natural ;  and  in  this  case  the  spiritual  bears 
rule,  and  the  natural  serves.  Hence  it  is  evident  what 
the  spiritual  principle  is,  and  what  the  natural.  This  is 
what  is  implied  by  the  Lord's  words  in  Matthew,  '*  Seek 
ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you  "  (vi.  33).     The 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


135 


kingdom  of  God  is  the  Lord  and  His  church ;  and  His 
righteousness  is  spiritual,  moral,  and  civil  go'SdTl^ 
every  good  which  is  done  from  the  love  of  them  is  '^ 
The  reason  that  all  thin^wiU  then  be  added  is,  that7 
when  use  occupies  the  first  place,  the  Lord,  from  whom 
all  good  is  derived,  occupies  the  first  place,  and  bears 
rule,  and  bestows  everting  tliat  conduces  to  eternal  life 
and  happinesj^   For.  a.s  h^s  Kpph  ..h....r^A^  ^n  ^j.^^^^ 
which  relate  to  the  Divine  Providence  of  the  Lord  with 
man,  regard  what  is  eternal.     The  all  things  which  will 
be  added  are  here  spoken  of  with  reference  to  food  and 
clothing;  because  by  food  is  meant  everything  ^-^.ernal 
which  nourishes  the  soul,  and  by  clothing,  everythino- 
external  which,  like  the  body,  clothes  it.     Everything 
internal  refers  to  love  and  wisdom,  and  everything  exter- 
nal to  opulence  and  eminence.     From  these  observations 
It  is  now  evident  what  is  implied  by  loving  uses  for  the 
sake  of  uses,  and  what  the  uses  are  from  which  man 
derives  wisdom— that  wisdom,  from  which,  and  according 
to  which,  everjr  man  possesses  eminence  and  opulence  in 
heaven. 

84.  Since  man  w^as  created  to  perform  uses,  and  that 
is,  to  love  his  neighbor,  therefore  all  men,  however 
numerous  they  are,  who  enter  heaven,  have  to  perform 
uses.  According  to  uses  and  the  loVe  of  them,  the  inha- 
bitants of  heaven  enjoy  all  their  delight  and  blessedness, 
and  heavenly  joy  is  derived  from  no  other  source.  He 
who  believes  that  this  joy  is  conferred  in  a  state  of  idle- 
ness is  much  deceived;  for  no  idle  person  is  tolerated 
even  in  hell,  its  inhabitants  being  in  work-houses,  and 
under  a  judge,  who  sets  his  prisoners  the  difierent  kinds 
of  work  which  they  are  every  day  to  perform.  To  those 
who  do  not  perform  their  work,  neither  food  nor  clothing 


136 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


137 


is  given,  but  they  stand  hungry  and  naked,  and  in  this  way 
they  are  driven  to  it.  The  difference  is,  that  in  hell  uses 
are  performed  from  fear,  but  in  heaven  from  love,  and  it  is 
not  fear  but  love  that  imparts  joy.  The  angels  are  how- 
ever permitted  to  vary  their  occupations  in  different  ways, 
in  company  with  others,  and  this  produces  recreations 
which  are  also  uses.  I  have  been  permitted  to  see 
several  things  in  heaven,  as  well  as  in  the  world,  and  in 
the  human  body,  and  at  the  same  time  to  ponder  over 
their  uses,  w^hen  it  has  been  revealed  to  me,  that  every- 
thing in  them,  great  as  well  as  small,  was  created  from 
use,  in  use,  and  for  use ;  and  that  the  part  in_  which  the 
ultiinate  conducing  to  use  ceases,  is  separated  as  noxious, 
and  as  it  were  condemned  and  cast  out. 

85.  Some  observations  shall  now  be  made  respecting 
the  life  of  animals,  and  afterwards  respecting  the  soul  of 
vegetables.  The  whole  world  and  all  the  collective  and 
several  objects  which  it  contains,  derived  their  existence, 
and  still  subsist  from  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse. There  are  two  Suns,  the  sun  of  the  spiritual 
world,  and  the  sun  of  the  natural ;  the  former  is  the 
divine  love  of  the  Lord  ;  the  latter  is  pure  fire.  From 
the  sun  which  is  divine  love  the  whole  work  of  creation 
began,  and  through  the  sun  which  is  fire  it  was  brought 
to  completion.  Everything  again  which  proceeds  from 
the  former  of  these  suns  is  called  spiritual,  but  everything 
which  proceeds  from  the  latter,  natural.  That  which  is 
spiritual  from  its  origin  has  life  in  itself,  but  that  which 
is  natural  from  its  origin  has  no  life  in  itself;  and  because 
from  these  two  sources  of  the  universe  all  things  which 
are  contained  in  both  worlds  derived  their  existence,  and 
still  subsist,  it  follows  that  the  spiritual  and  the  natural 
exist  in  every  created  object  in  this  world  ;  the  spiritual 


being  as  the  soul,  and  the  natural  as  the  body;  or 
the  spiritual  as  the  internal,  and  the  body  as  the  ex- 
ternal ;  or  the  spiritual  as  the  cause,  and  the  natural  as 
the  effect.  Every  wise  man  is  aware  that  these  two 
things  cannot  in  any  case  whatever  be  separated  ;  for  if 
you  separate  the  cause  from  the  effect,  the  effect  perishes ; 
or  if  you  separate  the  internal  from  the  external,  the 
latter  perishes,  just  as  if  you  were  to  separate  the  soul 
from  the  body.  It  has  not  been  hitherto  known  that 
there  is  this  conjunction  in  all  the  several  objects  of 
nature,  even  in  the  most  minute  of  them ;  and  the  reason 
that  it  is  not  known  arises  from  the  ignorance  which 
prevails  regarding  the  spiritual  world,  the  sun,  the  light 
and  heat  there,  and  also  from  the  insanity  of  sensual 
men,  in  ascribing  all  things  to  nature,  and  seldom  any- 
thing but  creation  in  general  to  God,  although  there 
neither  is  nor  can  be,  in  nature,  anything  whatever  in 
which  there  is  not  a  spiritual  principle.  In  what  follows 
will  be  shown  the  existence  of  this  principle,  and  the 
mode  of  its  existence,  in  all  the  collective  and  several 
objects  which  are  contained  in  the  three  kingdoms  of 
nature. 

86.  From  the  subjects  and  objects  of  the  three  king- 
doms of  nature,  which  embrace  all  things  in  the  world, 
the  following  point  may  be  illustrated  and  confirmed  : — 
that  the  spiritual  principle  is  united  with  the  natural,  in 
all  the  collective  and  several  parts  of  the  world,  in  the 
same  way  as  the  soul  is  united  with  the  body,  in  all  its 
collective  and  several  parts ;  or  as  the  efficient  cause  is 
with  the  effect,  in  all  its  collective  and  several  parts;  or 
as  the  internal  producing  principle  is  with  its  own  pro- 
duce, in  all  its  collective  and  several  parts.  That  there 
is  such  a  union  of  spiritual  and  natural  things  in  all  the 


I 


138 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


139 


collective  and  several  subjects  and  objects  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  is  evident  from  the  wonderful  facts  which  have 
been  observed  by  learned  men  and  societies,  and  submit- 
ted to  the  examination  of  those  who  love  to  investigate 
causes.     It  is  a  generally  known  fact  that  animals  of 
every  kind,  great  and  small,  both  those  which  walk  or 
creep  upon  the  earth,  and  those  which  fly  in  the  air  or 
swim  in  the  waters,  know  from  an  innate  and  implanted 
principle  called  instinct  or  nature,  how  their  species  must 
be  propagated,  and  their  young  after  birth  be  brought 
up  and  fed,  as  well  as  the  kinds  of  food  suitable  for  them. 
They  know  again,  in  each  case,  their  proper  food  from 
its  mere  appearance,  smell,  or  taste,  and  where  it  must  be 
sought  for  and  collected.     They  know  further  their  own 
dwellings  and  places  of  resort,  where  also  their  compa- 
nions and  mates  are  to  be  found  from  hearing  the  sound 
of  tlieir  voice,  and  according  to  any  variation  in  its  tone 
they  are  acquainted  with  their  wants.     The  knowledge 
of  such  things  regarded  in  itself  is  spiritual,  as  well  as 
the  affection  from  which  it  proceeds;  the  clothing  of 
them  both  being  derived  from  nature,  and  their  produc- 
tion also  through  her  means.     An  animal  is  moreover 
precisely  like  man  as  to  the  organs,  the  members,  and 
the  viscera  of  the  body  :  like  man  it  has  eyes,  and  thence 
sight;  ears,  and  thence  the  sense  of  hearing;  nostrils, 
and  thence  the  sense  of  smell ;  a  mouth  and  tongue,  and 
thence  the  sense  of  taste ;  the  cuticular  sense  also  with 
all  its  variety  throughout  every  part  of  the  body.     With 
regard  again  to  the  interiors  of  its  body,  it  has  similar 
viscera ;  two  brains,  a  heart  and  lungs,  a  stomach,  liver, 
pancreas,  spleen,  mesentery  and  intestines,  with  all  the 
other  organs  necessary  for  producing  chyle  and  blood, 
and  re-purifying  the  system,  besides  the  organs  of  sepa- 


i 


ii 

/ 

1 


ration  and  generation.  It  resembles  man  further  with 
regard  to  its  nerves,  blood-vessels,  skins,  cartilages,  and 
bones ;  and  such  is  the  resemblance,  that  man  with 
regard  to  these  points  is  an  animal.  That  all  these 
things  in  man  have  a  correspondence  with  the  societies 
of  heaven,  has  been  shown  in  many  particulars  in  the 
Arca7ia  Celestia  ;  consequently  they  are  also  similar  in 
the  case  of  animals.  From  this  correspondence  it  is 
evident  that  the  spiritual  acts  upon  the  natural,  and  by 
means  of  it  produces  its  own  effects,  as  the  principal 
cause  acting  by  means  of  its  instrumental  cause.  These 
are  however  merely  general  signs  bearing  witness  to  the 
conjunction  which  exists  in  this  kingdom. 

87.  The  particular  signs  bearing  similar  testimony  are 
still  more  numerous  and  striking,  and  with  some  species 
of  animals  they  are  such  that  the  sensual  man,  whose 
thoughts  originate  in  matter  alone,  places  the  powers 
which  belong  to  the  inferior  animals  upon  a  footing  of 
equality  with  those  which  belong  to  man.  From  his 
infatuated  intelligence  he  concludes,  that  their  states  of 
life  are  similar  even  after  death,  alleging  that  if  he  lives, 
they  live  ;  or  if  they  die,  he  dies  also.  The  signs  which 
bear  this  testimony,  and  still  infatuate  the  sensual  man 
are,  that  in  the  case  of  some  animals  there  appear  similar 
prudence  and  cunning,  similar  connubial  love,  similar 
friendship  and  as  it  were  charity,  similar  probity  and 
benevolence ;  in  a  word,  a  moral  nature  similar  to  that 
which  exists  in  man.  Dogs,  for  example,  from  a  genius 
innate  in  them,  as  if  from  a  sort  of  mental  power,  know 
how  to  keep  faithful  watch  ;  from  a  hint  of  their  master's 
affection  they  are  as  it  were  acquainted  with  his  will ; 
from  perceiving  the  scent  of  his  footsteps  or  his  clothes, 
they  can  trace  him  out ;  they  know  the  bearings  of  the 


A 


01 


1/iO 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


141 


country  in  which  they  live,  and  speedily  find  their  way 
home,  even  though  it  lies  through  pathless  tracts,  or  in 
the  midst  of  dense  forests.  From  these  and  other  traits 
of  a  similar  kind  the  sensual  man  concludes,  that  the  dog 
is  endowed  with  knowledge,  intelligence,  and  wisdom. 
Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at,  when  he  ascribes  these 
powers  in  the  case  of  the  dog  as  well  as  in  his  own  case 
to  nature.  It  is  otherwise  with  the  spiritual  man ;  he 
sees  clearly  that- there  is  some  spiritual  principle  which 
leads  in  all  these  instances,  and  that  it  is  in  union  with 
the  natural.  Particular  signs  again  are  observable  in 
birds :  they  know  how  to  build  their  nests,  to  lay  in  them 
their  eggs,  to  sit  upon  them,  to  hatch  their  young,  and 
afterwards,  from  that  affection  which  exists  between 
parents  and  offspring,  to  provide  them  with  warmth 
under  their  wings,  and  food  from  their  bills,  until  they 
arc'fledged  and  provided  with  wings,  when  they  too, 
without  any  instruction,  are  found  to  be  possessed  of  all 
their  parents'  knowledge,  deriving  it  from  that  spiritual 
principle  which  forms  their  soul — the  soul  from  which 
they  provide  for  themselves.  Particular  signs  again  are 
the  contents  of  the  egg,  in  which  lie  concealed  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  new  bird,  encompassed  with  every  element 
ministering  to  the  formation  of  the  fetus,  from  its  begin- 
nings in  the  head  to  the  full  contexture  of  all  the  parts 
of  the  body.  Can  such  a  provision  be  made  by  nature  ? 
For  this  process  involves  not  only  being  produced,  but 
also  being  created ;  and  nature  does  not  create.  What 
has  nature  to  do  with  life,  but  that  life  may  be  clothed 
from  it  and  come  forth,  presenting  itself  to  view  in  form 
as  an  animated  being?  Amongst  the  particular  signs 
bearing  the  same  testimony  are  caterpillars.  When  they 
are  about  to  undergo  a  change  of  form,  they  enclose 


themselves  as  it  were  in  a  womb,  that  they  may  have  a 
second  birth.    In  this  state  they  are  changed  into  nymphs 
and  chrysalises,  and  after  the  necessary  labor  and  time 
they  emerge  into  beautiful  butterflies,  and  soar  into  the 
air  as  their  heaven,  where  male  and  female  sport  together, 
as  married  partners  with  each  other.     They  now  feed 
upon  odorifefous  flowers,  and  lay  their  eggs,  thus  making 
provision  that  their  species  may  live  after  them.     The 
spiritual  man  sees  that  this  rivals  his  own  re-birth,  and 
is  a  representative  type  of  his  own  resurrection,  and  thus 
is  spiritual.     Signs   still   more   striking  are  observable 
amongst  bees.     They  have  a  form  of  government  analo- 
gous to  those  amongst  men.     They  construct  themselves 
cells  of  wax,  according  to  the  rules  of  art,  in  a  regular 
series,  and  provided  with  convenient  passages  through 
which  to  come  and  go ;  they  then  fill  them  with  honey 
collected  from  the  flowers.     They  appoint  over  them- 
selves a  queen,  from  whom,  as  from  a  common  parent, 
their  offspring  is  to  proceed.     She  dwells  above  her  peo- 
ple in  the  midst  of  her  attendant  bees,  which,  when  she  is 
about  to  become  a  mother,  follow  her  with  a  promiscuous 
crowd  in  their  train,  as  she  goes  from  cell  to  cell,  laying 
in  each  her  little  egg.     She  does  this  without  intermis- 
sion until  the  matrix  is  exhausted,  when  she  returns 
home,  and  repeats  again  and  again  the  same  process. 
Her  attendants,  which  are  called  drones,  performing  no 
other  use  than  waiting,  as  so  many  domestics  upon  one 
mistress,  and  possibly  inspiring  her  with  something  of 
amatory  desire,  but  assisting  in  no  labor,  are  then  con- 
sidered useless,  and  therefore  that  they  may  not  invade 
and  consume  the  substance  and  labors  of  others,  they  are 
dragged  out  and  stripped  of  their  wings.     In  this  way 
the  bees  clear  their  communities  of  their  indolent  mem- 


142 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


143 


bers.     Afterwards  again,  the  new  offspring,  when  they 
have  attained  their  growth,  are  comirianded  by  the  gene- 
ral voice,  which  is  heard  as  a  loud  humming,  to  take  tlieir 
departure  and  to  seek  shelter  and  food  for  themselves. 
They  therefore  depart,   and,   collecting  into   a  swarm, 
establish  a  similar  order  of  things  in  a  hive  of  their  own. 
These  and  many  other  particulars,    which  have   been 
observed  and  published  by  persons  devoted  to  investi- 
gations of  this  kind,  are  not  unlike  the  forms  of  gov- 
ernment,  which  have  been  established  and  arranged  in 
kingdoms  and  republics  by  the  intelligence  and  wisdom 
of  man,  according  to  the  laws  of  justice  and  judgment. 
Like  men  again,  the  bees,  as  if  they  were  aware  of  the 
approach  of  winter,  lay  up  a  store  of  provisions  for  it, 
that  they  may  not  at  that  season  die  of  want.     Who  can 
deny  that  such  indications  of  intelligence  as  these  are 
spiritual  in  their  origin  ?     Or  can  similar  indications  of 
it  be  possibly  derived  from  any  other  origin  ?     They  are 
all  of  them  to  me  arguments  and  proofs  of  a  spiritual 
influx  into  natural  objects,  and  I  am  thoroughly  asto- 
nished how  facts  of  this  kind  can  be  regarded  as  argu- 
ments and  proofs  of  the  operation  of  nature  alone,  as 
they  are  by  some  men  who  are  infatuated  by  their  own 
self-derived  intelligence. 

88.  No  one  can  understand  the  nature  and  quality  of 
the  life  which  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  the  birds  of  heaven, 
and  the  fishes  of  the  sea  enjoy,  unless  he  is  also  ac- 
quainted with  the  nature  and  quality  of  their  soul.  It  is 
a  fact  well  known  that  every  animal  has  a  soul,  for  all 
animals  live,  and  life  is  the  soul,  for  this  reason  they  are 
also  called  in  the  Word  living  souls.  It  cannot  be  bet- 
ter known  from  any  other  source  than  the  spiritual 
world,  that  the  soul  in  its  ultimate  form,  which  is  cor- 


poreal, such  as  it  appears  before  the  natural  sight,  is  an 
animal.     For  in  the  spiritual  world,  just  as  in  the  natural, 
there  are  seen  beasts,  and  birds,  and  fishes  of  every  kind, 
and  in  form  so  similar,  that  they  cannot  be  distinguished 
from  those  in  the  natural  world.     But  the  difference  is, 
that  in  the  sj)iritual  world  they  have  an  apparent  exist- 
ence from  the  affections  of  the  angels  and  spirits,  so  that 
they  are  appearances  of  affections.     For  this~reason  they 
also  disappear  as  soon  as  the  angel  or  spirit  departs,  or 
his  affection  ceases.     Hence  it  is  evident,  that  their  soul 
consists  of  nothing  else  ;  and  consequently  that  there  are 
as  many  genera  and  species  of  animals  in  existence,  as 
there  are  genera  and  species  of  affections.     It  will  be 
seen  in  what  follows  that  the  affections,  which  are  repre- 
sented by  animals  in  the  spiritual  world,  are  not  interior 
spiritual  affections,  but  exterior,  which  are  called  natu- 
ral ;  and  further,  that  there  is  not  a  hair  or  a  thread  of 
wool  on  any  beast,  not  the  filament  of  a  quill  or  feather 
upon  any  bird,  not  the  apex  of  a  scale  or  fin  upon  any 
fish,  that  is  not  formed  from  the  life  of  their  soul,  and 
thus  that  is  not  derived  from  the  spiritual  clothed  with 
the  natural.     But  some  remarks  shall  first  be  made  with 
respect  to  the  animals  which  appear  in  heaven,  in  hell, 
and  in  the  world  of  spirits,  which  is  intermediate  in  rela- 
tion to  them. 

89.  Because  the  whole  heaven,  the  whole  hell,  and  the 
whole  world  of  spirits  are  each  divided  into  societies,  and 
the  societies  are  arranged  according  to  the  genera  and 
species  of  affections,  as  was  just  observed,  therefore  one 
genus  of  animals  with  its  species  appears  in  one  society, 
and  another  in  another,  and  thus  all  the  genera  with  their 
species  included.  In  the  societies  of  heaven  appear  the 
gentle  and  clean  animals ;  in  the  societies  of  hell,  the 


\ 


[ 


144 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


savage  and  unclean  beasts ;  and  in  the  world  of  snirits 
beast,  of  an  intermediate  kind.  They  have  IJ^Z 
quently  seen  by  me,  and  from  their  appearance  I  have 
been  enabled  to  learn  the  quality  of  the  angels  or  spirS 

t: esThilh"'=  '"  ^"  these  are  known  from  the  ap^e  ! 
ances  which  are   near  them  and   around  them    their 

alma?"  ^  'T  ^"'^"^  ^^J^^*^'  ^  -"  ^  ^-^  tie 
ammals     There  have  been  seen  by  me  in  the  heavens 

jambs  sheep,  and  goat,  so  similar  to  those  in  the  world 

that   there   ,s   no  difference   whatever  between    them 

turtle-doves  aJso   and   pigeons,    birds  of  paradise,    and 

-any  other,  beautiful  in  form  and  color  f  fishes  oo  in 

in  tl  r;,        ''?  "'"  "  *'^  '°^^^*  P-*«  of  heaven. 
In  the  hells,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  seen  do<.s 

serpen:  or"°"  "'  ""''^"  '^^^^•^'  ^^^■'^^  P^i^-ous 
serpents  of  many  spec.es,  crows  also,  owls  and  birds  of 

phants,  horses,  asses,  oxen,  stags,   lions,  leopards,  and 

quails.  There  are  also  seen  compound  animals,  such  as 
were  seen  by  the  prophets  and  are  described  in  tl^ 
Word  as  in  the  Eev.  xiii.  2,  and  elsewhere.  Since  the  e 
IT  ^r'",^'-°«  between  the  animals  thatapjeart 
that  world  and  those  in  this,  that  they  cannot  be  at  aH 

the  affec  ions  of  the  angels  of  heaven,  or  from  the  lusS 

lust  ITth         'f '  ''  f  "^"^  '''''  "^*"-'  affections     d 
lusts  are  their  souls,  and  that  these  being  clothed  with  a 

body  are  an.mals  in  a  corresponding  fL.     But  wlnt 

affection  or  lust  forms  the  soul  of  thi^  or  that  anima7  be 

It  a  beast  or  a  wild  beast  of  the  earth,  a  bird  of  t^  dl 

or  of  the  night,  a  fish  of  limpid  water'or  foul,  it  dts  n^ 


1  il 


ii 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


145 


belong  to  this  place  to  explain.  Animals  are  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  Word,  and  they  have  there  a  significa- 
tion according  to  their  souls.  The  signification  oHambs, 
sheep,  she-goats,  rams,  kids,  he-goats,  steers,  oxen,  camels,' 
horses,  asses,  stags,  and  also  of  some  birds,  may  be  seen 
explained  in  the  Arcana  Celestia, 

90.  Plaving  premised  these  observations,  we  shall  now 
explain  what  the  soul  of  beasts  is.     The  soul  of  beasts 
regarded  in  itself  is  spiritual;  for  affection,  of  whatever 
kind  it  is,  whether  good  or  evil,  is  spiritual ;  for  it  is  a 
derivation  from  some  love,  and  derives  its  origin  from 
the  light  and   heat  which  proceed  from  the  Lord  as  a 
sun,  and  whatever  proceeds  from  that  source  is  spiritual. 
It  is  evident  from  what  was  before  said  on  the  subject 
of  evil  loves  and  the  insane  lusts  originating  in  them, 
belonging  to  infernal  genii  and  spirits,  that  evil  affections 
which   are  called  concupiscences    are   also   from    that 
source.     Beasts  and  wild  beasts,  the  souls  of  which  are 
similar  evil  affections,  such  as  mice,  poisonous  serpents, 
crocodiles,  basilisks,  vipers,  and  the  like,  with  the  various 
noxious  insects,  were  not  created  from  the  beginning, 
but  originated  with  hell   in  ponds,  marshes,  n^nk  and 
fetid  waters,  and  where  there  are  cadaverous  and  filthy 
effluvia,  with  which  the  malignant  loves  of  the  infernal 
societies  communicate.     I  have  been  permitted  to  know 
by   experience,    that  a   communication    between   such 
objects  exists.     Tjere  is  again  inherent  in  all   that  is 
spiritual  a  plastic  force,  where  there  are  homogeneous 
exhalations  in  nature  present,  anj  there  is  also  a  propa- 
gative  force,  for  i£  forms  not  onl^  tjbe  organs  of  sense 
and  motion,  but^also  those  o_f  prolification,  by  means^ 
wombsorj3ggs.     But  at  the  beginning,  useful  and  clean 
beasts  alone  were  created,  the  souls  of  which  are  good 


146 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


affections.  It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
souls  of  beasts  are  not  spiritual  in  the  degree  in  which 
the  souls  of  men  are  so,  but  they  are  spiritual  in  an 
inferior  degree ;  for  degrees  of  spiritual  things  exist. 
The  affections  also  of  the  inferior  degree,  although  re- 
garded according  to  their  origin  they  are  spiritual,  must 
still  be  spoken  of  as  natural,  and  that  because  they 
resemble  the  affections  of  the  natural  man.  There  are 
in  man  three  degrees  of  the  natural  affections,  and  in 
like  manner  there  are  three  degrees  of  the  lower  animals. 
In  the  lowest  degree  are  the  insects  of  various  kinds  ;  in 
the  higher  degree  are  the  fowls  of  heaven ;  and  in  the 
degree  still  higher  are  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  which  were 
created  from  the  beginning, 

91.  The  difference  between  men  and  beasts  is  like  that 
between  waking  and  dreaming,  or  between  light  and 
shade.  Man  is  spiritual,  and  at  the  same  time  natural; 
a  beast,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  spiritual,  but  natural. 
Man  possesses  a  will  and  an  understanding,  his  will 
being  the  receptacle  of  the  heat  of  heaven,  which  is  love ; 
and  his  understanding  being  the  receptacle  of  the  light 
of  heaven,  which  is  wisdom.  A  beast,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  neither  will  nor  understanding;  but  instead 
of  the  former  it  has  affection,  and  instead  of  the  latter, 
knowledge.  The  will  and  the  understanding  in  man 
can  act  as  one,  and  they  can  also  act  not  as  one ;  for 
man  can  from  his  understanding  think  that  which  has 
nothing  to  do  with  his  will,  and  that  even  to  which  his 
will  is  opposed ;  he  can,  on  the  other  hand,  will  that 
which  he  does  not  think.  With  a  beast,  again,  affection 
and  knowledge  make  one,  and  cannot  be  separated  ;  for 
its  knowledge  is  limited  to  its  affection,  and  its  affection 
is  according  to  its  knowledge.     And  since  the  two  facul- 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


147 


ties,  which  are  called  knowledge  and  affection,  cannot  in 
the  case  of  a  beast  be  separated,  therefore  it  is  that  a 
beast  has  been  unable  to  destroy  the  order  of  its  life,  and 
is  born  into  all  the  knowledge  which  belongs  to  its 
affection.     The  case  is  otherwise  with   man.     His  two 
faculties  of  life,  which  are  called  understanding  and  will, 
can,  as  we  have  observed,  be  separated ;  therefore  it  is 
that  he  had  power  to  destroy  the  order  of  his  life,  by 
thinking  in  opposition  to  his  will,  and   by  willing  in 
opposition  to  his  understanding,  and  that  by  this  means 
he  also  destroyed  it.     Hence  it  is  that  he  is  born  into 
mere  ignorance— that  out  of  it  he  may  be  introduced 
into  order  through  the  various  grades  of  knowledge,  by 
means  of  the  understanding.     The  order  into  which  he 
was  created   is  to  love  God  above  all   things,  and   his 
neighbor  as  himself,  and  the  state  into  which  he  came, 
after  he  had  destroyed  this  order,  is  that  of  loving  him-^ 
self  above  all  things,  and  the  world  as  himself.     And 
since  he  has  a  spiritual  mind,  which,  being  above  his 
natural  mind,  has  the  power  of  contemplating  such  sub- 
jects as  belong  to  heaven,  to  the  church,  and  also  to  civil 
society  so  far  as  regards  its  morals  and  laws ;  and  since 
these  subjects  refer  on  the  one  hand  to  the  goods  and 
truths   which  are   called   spiritual,    moral,  and   civil— 
besides  the  natural  goods  and  truths  belonging  to  the 
various  grades  of  knowledge— and  on  the  other  hand,  to 
their  opposites,  which  are  falsities  and  evils,  therefore  it 
is  that  man  has  the  power  not  only  of  thinking  analy- 
tically, and  thence  drawing  his  conclusions,  but  also  of 
receiving  influx  through  heaven  from  the  Lord,  and  of 
becoming  intelligent  and  wise.     No  beast  is  capable  of 
this  ;  because  its  knowledge,  not  being  derived  from  any 
understanding,    is   the  knowledge   which   originates  in 


148 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


afFection — that  affection  which  constitutes  its  soul.  This 
knowledge  originating  in  affection  exists  in  everything 
spiritual,  because  the  spiritual  principle,  proceeding  from 
the  Lord  as  a  sun,  is  light  united  to  heat,  or  wisdom 
united  to  love ;  the  knowledge  also  originates  in  wisdom, 
and  the  affection  in  love,  in  the  degree  which  is  called 
natural.  And  since  man  has  both  a  spiritual  mind  and 
a  natural  mind,  the  former  being  above  the  latter,  and 
of  such  a  nature  that  it  has  the  capacity  of  contemplat- 
ing and  loving  truths  and  goods  in  every  degree,  either 
in  conjunction  with  the  natural  mind,  or  separately  from 
it,  it  follows  that  his  interiors,  which  belong  to  both 
minds,  are  capable  of  being  elevated  by  the  Lord  to  a 
conjunction  with  Himself;  hence  it  is  that  every  man 
lives  for  ever.  This  is  not  the  case  with  the  beast ;  it 
does  not  rejoice  in  the  possession  of  any  spiritual  mind, 
though  it  has  a  natural  one  ;  therefore  i_t  is  that  its  inte- 
riors, which  orio-inate  merelvin  knowledo^e  and  affection, 
cannot  be  elevated  by  the  Lord  or  conjoined  with  Him  ; 
and  therefore  it  does  not  live  after  death.  A  beast  is 
indeed  led  by  a  kind  of  spiritual  influx  falling  into  its 
soul,  but  its  spiritual  principle  being  incapable  of  eleva- 
tion can  only  be  determined  downwards.  This  prin- 
ciple, therefore,  is  capable  of  regarding  only  such  things 
as  belong  to  its  affection,  referring  merely  to  nourish- 
ment, habitation,  and  propagation — and  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  them  by  means  of  sight,  smell,  and 
taste.  Man  again,  by  virtue  of  his  spiritual  mind,  has 
the  capacity  of  thinking  rationally ;  he  therefore  has  the 
faculty  of  speech  ;  for  speech  belongs  to  thought  derived 
from  understanding,  which  is  capable  of  seeing  truths  in 
a  spiritual  light.  A  beast,  on  the  other  hand,  which  has 
no   thoughts  derived   from  understanding,  but  merely 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


149 


knowledge  derived  from  affection,  can  only  utter  sounds, 
varying  this  expression  of  its  affection  according  to  its 
appetites. 

92.  We  shall  now  make  some  observations  respecting 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  the  soul  connected  with  it, 
which  is  called  the  vegetative  soul;  since  it  is  not  known 
in  the  world  that  this    soul  also  is  spiritual.     By  the 
vegetative  soul  is  meant  the  conatus  or  effort  to  produce 
a  vegetable  from  seed,  through  all  the  progressive  stages, 
to  new  seeds,  and  by  this  means  to  multiply  itself  to 
infinity,  and  propagate  itself  for  ever.     For  there  is  in 
every  vegetable  an  idea  as  it  were  of  the  Infinite  and 
Eternal ;  since  one  seed  might  be  multiplied  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  so  as  to  fill  the  w^hole  earth,  and  propagated 
also  from   seed   to  seeds   in   endless  succession.     This 
power,  associated  as  it  is  with  the  wonderful  process  of 
growing  from  a  root  into  a  shoot,  then  into  a  stalk,  next 
into  branches,  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits,  U!itil  the  plant 
arrives  at  new  seeds,  is  not  a  natural,  but  a  spiritual 
power.      In  a   similar   manner   again   is   this    spiritual 
power   evinced   by  the   resemblance   which   vegetables 
bear  in  many  respects  to  the  objects  belonging  to  the 
animal  kingdom.     That  they  exist,  for  instance,  from 
seed;  that  there  is  in  them  as  it  were  a  prolific  prin- 
ciple; that  they  produce  a  plant  as  their  infant,  with 
the   stalk   as   its   body,   the  branches  as   its  arms,    the 
summit  as  its  head,  the  barks  as  its  skins,  and  the  leaves 
as  its  lungs;  that  they  reach  a  state  of  adolescence  in 
the  course  of  years;  that  they  then  bloom  like  maidens 
before  their  nuptials,  and  afterwards,  causing  as  it  were 
their  wombs  or  eggs  to  expand,  they  bring  forth  fruits 
as  their  offspring;  that  there  are  in  these  again  new 
seeds,  from  which,  as  in  the  animal  kingdom,  new  pro- 


150 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


pagations  of  the  same  species  or  family  are  produced. 
These  and  many  other  particulars  observed  by  botanists, 
who  have  traced  a  parallel  between  these  two  kingdoms, 
indicate  that  the  conatus  or  effort  to  produce  such  results 
does  not  originate  in  the  natural  world,  but  in  the  spiri- 
tual. From  the  sequel  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  living 
force,  as  the  principal  cause,  is  spiritual ;  while  the  dead 
force,  as  the  instrumental  cause,  is  natural. 

93.  The  mode  in  which  the  spiritual  principle  enters 
by  influx  into  vegetables  and  acts  upon  them,  producing 
the  conatus,  effort,  or  act,  of  which  we  have  been  speak- 
ing, cannot  be  comprehended  by  any  understanding 
unless  the  following  propositions  are  first  explained : — 

I.  That  nothing  in  nature  exists  or  subsists  but  from 
a  spiritual  origin,  and  by  means  of  it. 

II.  That  nature  in  itself  is  dead,  having  been  created 
in  order  that  that  which  is  spiritual  may  be  clothed  from 
it  with  forms  to  serve  for  use,  and  thus  may  terminate. 

III.  That  there  are  two  general  forms,  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural ;  the  spiritual,  such  as  that  which  belongs 
to  animals;  and  the  natural,  such  as  that  which  belongs 
to  vegetables. 

IV.  That  there  are  three  forces  inherent  in  everything 
spiritual ;  the  active,  the  creative,  and  the  formative. 

V.  That  vegetables  and  animals  also — both  those  which 
appear  in  heaven,  and  those  which  appear  in  the  world 
— exist  from  a  spiritual  origin,  by  means  of  these 
forces. 

VI.  That  both — animals  and  vesretables — have  the 
same  origin,  and  thence  the  same  soul ;  the  only  dif- 
ference being  in  the  forms  into  which  the  influx  is 
received. 

VII.  That  this  origin  is  from  use. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


151 


94.  I.   That  nothing  in  nature  exists  or  subsists^  but  from 
a  spiritual  origin^  mid  by  yneans  of  it. 

The  reason  of  this  is  that  nothing  can  exist  except 
from  something  else,  and  this  lastly  from  Him,  who  is 
and  who  exists  in  Himself,  and  He  is  God ;  therefore  also 
God  is  called   esse  and  existere — Jah  from  esse,  and 
Jehovah  from  esse  and  existere,  in  Himself.     The  reason 
that  nothing  in  nature  exists  but  from  a  spiritual  origin 
is,  that  there  cannot  be  anything  in  existence  unless  it 
has  a  soul,  all  that  which  is  essence  being  called  soul ; 
for  that  which  has  not  in  itself  an  essence,  does  not  exist 
— it  is  a  nonentity ;  because  there  is  no  esse  from  which 
it  can  derive  existence.     Such  is  the  case  with  nature; 
its  essence,  from  which  it  exists,  being  the  spiritual  origin 
or  principle,  because  this  possesses  in  itself  the  divine 
esse,  and  also  the  divine  force — active,  creative,   and 
formative — as  will  be  evident  from  what  follows.      This 
essence  may  also  be  called  soul,  because  all  that  is  spiri- 
tual lives ;  and  when  that  which  is  alive  acts  upon  that 
which  is  not  so,  upon  that,  for  instance,  which  is  natural, 
it  causes  it  either  to  live  as  if  from  itself,  or  to  derive 
from  it  something  of  the  appearance  of  life ;  the  former 
is  the  case  with  animals,  the  latter  with  vegetables.     The 
reason  that  nothing  in  nature  exists  but  from  a  spiritual 
origin  or  principle  is,  that  no  effect  is  produced  without 
a  cause;  whatever  exists  in  the  form  of  an  effect  pro- 
ceeds from  a  cause,  that  which  does  not  proceed  from  a 
cause  being  separated.     Such  is  the  case  with  nature ;  all 
the  several  and  most  minute  objects  belonging  to  it  are 
effects  produced  from  a  cause,  which  is  prior,  interior, 
and  superior  to  it,   and  proceeding  immediately  from 
God.      For  since  there  exists  a  spiritual  world,  which  is 
prior,  interior,  and  superior,  to  the  natural  world,  there- 


152 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


fore  all  that  belongs  to  the  former  is  cause,  and  all  that 
belongs  to  the  latter  is  effect.  The  existence  indeed 
of  one  thing  from  another  is  also  progressive  in  the 
natural  world,  but  this  is  bj  means  of  causes  proceeding 
from  the  spiritual  world  ;  for  where  the  cause  of  an  effect 
is,  there  also  is  to  be  found  the  cause  of  an  efficient  effect. 
For  every  efiect  becomes  an  efficient  cause  in  successive 
order,  until  it  reaches  the  ultimate,  where  the  effective 
force  stops.  But  this  is  continually  accomplished  from 
the  spiritual  principle  in  which  alone  this  force  exists ; 
this  therefore  is  the  reason  that  nothing  in  nature  exists 
but  from  a  spiritual  origin  or  principle,  and  by  means  of 
it.  There  are  in  nature  two  mediate  causes,  through 
which  every  effect,  whether  production  or  formation,  is 
derived.  These  mediate  causes  are  light  and  heat ;  the 
former  modifying  substances,  the  latter  stimulating  them 
to  action,  the  power  in  each  case  proceeding  from  the 
presence  of  the  sun  in  them.  The  presence  of  the  sun 
which  is  apparent  as  light,  produces  an  activity  of  all 
the  forces  or  substances  of  every  individual  thing,  ac- 
cording to  the  form  in  which  it  exists  from  creation — 
this  is  modification.  The  presence  of  the  sun  again, 
which  is  perceptible  as  hent,  expands  all  individual 
things,  producing  an  active  and  efficient  force,  according 
to  their  form,  by  calling  forth  into  action  the  conatus  or 
effort  of  which  they  are  possessed  from  creation.  This 
conatUwS,  which  by  means  of  heat  becomes  a  force  acting 
even  in  the  smallest  forms  of  nature,  is  from  a  spiritual 
origin  or  principle  acting  within  them  and  upon  them. 

95.  II.  That  nature  in  itself  is  deadj  having  been  created 
in  order  thai  that  ichich  is  spiritual  may  he  clothed  from  it 
with  forms  to  serve  for  use^  and  thus  may  terminate. 

Nature  and  life  are  two  distinct  things;  nature  deriv- 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


153 


ing  its  beginning  from  the  sun  of  the  world,  and  life 
deriving  its  beginning  from  the  sun  of  heaven.     The  sun 
of  the  world  is  pure  fire,  and  the  sun  of  heaven  pure 
love;  that   which  proceeds   from   the  former  is  called 
nature,  but  that  which  proceeds  from  the  latter  is  called 
life.     That  which  proceeds  from  pure  fire  is  dead,  but 
that  which  proceeds  from  pure  love  is  alive;  hence  it  is 
evident  that  nature  in  itself  is  dead.     That  nature  serves 
as  a  covering  for  that  which  is  spiritual,  is  evident  from 
the  souls  of  beasts,  which  are  spiritual  affections,  being 
clothed  from  materials  in  the  world,  it  being  well  known 
that  their  bodies  are  material ;  so  also  the  bodies  of  men. 
The  reason  that  the  spiritual  can  be  clothed  from  the 
material  is,  that  all  the  objects  which  exist  in  nature, 
whether  they  belong  to  atmosphere,  to  water,  or  to  earth, 
are,  as  to  every  individual  of  them,  effects   produced 
from  the  spiritual  as  a  cause.     The  effects  again  act  as 
one  with  the  cause,  and  are  in  complete  agreement  with 
it,  according  to  the  axiom,  that  nothing  exists  in  the 
effect  that  is  not  in  the  cause.     But  the  difference  is,  that 
the  cause  is  a  living  force,  because  it  is  spiritual,  while 
the  effect  derived  from  it  is  a  dead  force,  because  it  is 
natural.     From  this  it  is,  that  there  are  in  the  natural 
world  such  objects  as  are  in  complete  agreement  with 
those  which  exist  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  that  the 
former  can  be  suitably  conjoined  with  the  latter.     Hence 
then  it  is,  that  it  is  said  that  nature  was  created  that  the 
spiritual  may  be  clothed  from  it  with  forms  to  serve  for 
use.     That  nature  was  created  that  the  spiritual  may  be 
terminated  in  it,  follows  from  what  has  been  already 
said,  that  the  objects  in  the  spiritual  world  are  causes, 
while  those  in  the  natural  world  are  effects,  and  effects 
are  limits.     Where  there  is  a  first  principle  there  will  in 

7* 


154 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


155 


all  cases  be  an  ultimate ;  and  since  all  that  is  interme- 
diate from  the  first  principle  co-exists  in  the  ultimate,  the 
work  of  creation  is  perfected  in  ulti mates.  It  was  for  the 
sake  of  this  end  that  the  sun  of  the  world  was  created, 
and  by  its  means  nature,  and  lastly  the  terraqueous 
globe,  that  in  it  there  might  be  ultimate  material  sub- 
stances, in  which  all  that  is  spiritual  might  terminate, 
and  creation  rest.  Other  ends  were,  that  the  work  of 
creation  might  there  be  fixed  and  lasting — a  result  which 
is  produced  by  the  successive  generations  of  men  and 
animals,  and  the  continual  germinations  of  vegetables; 
and  that  all  things  should  from  them  return  to  their  First 
Source — a  result  which  is  produced  by  means  of  man. 
That  intermediates  co-exist  in  ultimates  is  evident  from 
the  axiom,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  efiect  that  is  not 
in  the  cause,  this  being  the  case — from  the  continuity  of 
causes  and  effects — from  the  First  Source  to  the  ulti- 
mate. 

96.  III.  That  there  are  two  general  forms^  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural ;  the  spiritual^  such  as  that  which  belongs  to 
animals;  and  the  natural^  such  as  that  vjhich  belongs  to 
vegetables. 

It  is  in  accordance  with  this  proposition  that  all  things 
belonging  to  nature,  except  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
atmospheres,  form  the  three  kingdoms,  the  animal,  the 
vegetable,  and  the  mineral ;  and  that  the  mineral  king- 
dom is  merely  the  store-house  in  which  are  contained, 
and  from  which  are  taken,  the  substances  which  com- 
pose the  forms  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms. 
The  forms  of  the  animal  kingdom,  which  are  in  one  word 
called  animals,  are  all  in  accordance  with  the  flux  of 
spiritual  substances  and  forces.  And  this  flux,  from  the 
conatus  or  effort  which  is  inherent  in  the  forms,  has  a 


tendency  to  the  human  form,  and  all  its  collective  and 
several  parts,  from  the  head  to  the  foot;  it  thus  has  a 
tendency  to  produce  the  organs  of  sense  and  motion,  and 
also  those  of   nutrition  and  propagation.     Hence  it  is 
that  the  whole  heaven  is  in  the  human  form,  that  all  the 
angels  and  spirits  there,  and  all  the  men  on  earth  are  so 
also;  and  further,  that  all  beasts,  birds,  and  fishes,  have 
a  tendency  to  it,  for  they  all  have  similar  organs.     This 
animal  form  derives  the  conatus  or  effort  to  produce  such 
results  from  the  First  Being,  from  whom  all  things  exist, 
and  who  is  God  in  that  He  is  Man.     This  conatus  or 
effort  and  the  consequent  tendency  of  all  the  spiritual 
forces  cannot  exist  from  any  other  source ;  for  it  exists 
in  the  greatest  things  and  in  the  least,  in  first  principles 
and  in  last,  in  the  spiritual  world  and  thence  in  the 
natural ;  but  with  a  difference  of  perfection  according  to 
degrees.     The  other  form,  again,  which  is  the  natural 
form,  and  to  which   all  vegetables   belong,  derives  its 
origin  from  the  conatus,  and  the  flux  originating  in  it, 
of  the  natural  forces,  which  consist  of  atmospheres,  and 
are  called  ethers.     For  in  these  the  conatus  is  according 
to  the  tendency  in  the  spiritual  forces  to  the  human  form, 
and   according  to  their  continual  operation  upon   the 
natural  forces,  and  through  these  upon  the  material  sub- 
stances of  the  earth,  of  which  the  vegetables  are  com- 
posed.    That  such  is  the  origin  of  the  natural  form  is 
plain  from  what  was  said  above,  that  there  is  in  vegeta- 
bles an  evident  resemblance  to  the  animal  form.     That 
all  things  in  nature  join  in  the  effort  to  realize  this  form, 
and  that  the  ethers  have  the  tendency  to  produce  it  im- 
pressed upon  them,  and  thus  engrafted  in  them,  from  a 
spiritual  source,  is  evident  from  many  circumstances ;  for  ' 
instance,  from  the  universal  vegetation  found  on  the  sur- 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 

face  of  the  whole  earth ;  from  the  vegetation  again  of 
minerals  into  forms  of  this  kind  in  mines,  wherever  an 
aperture  is  found,  as  well  as  from  the  vegetation  of  chalk- 
like substances  into  corals  at  the  bottom  of  seas,  and 
even  from  the  forms  of  the  snow-flakes,  which  seem  to 
emulate  those  of  vegetable  life. 

97.  IV.  Thai  there  are  three  forces  inherent  in  everything 
spiritual;  the  active^  the  creative^  and  the  formative. 

1.  The  existence  of  the  active  force  is  plain,  because 
that  which  is  spiritual  proceeds  from  the  first  source  of 
all  forces,  which  is  the  sun  of  heaven,  and  this  is  the 
divine  love  of  the  Lord  ;  and  since  love  is  the  essen- 
tial agent,  the  living  force,  which  is  life,  proceeds  from 
It. 

2.  The  creative  force  is  that  which  produces  causes  and 
effects  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  extending  from 
the  First  Pj-inciple,  through  intermediates,  to  the  las^ 
The  First  Principle  is  the  essential  sun  of  heaven,  which 
is  the  Lord  ;  intermediates  are  things  spiritual,  in  the 
next  place  things  natural,  and  then  things  terrestrial, 
from  which  lastly  the  productions  are  derived.  And 
since  this  force  in  the  creation  of  the  universe  extended 
from  the  First  Principle  to  the  last,  therefore  it  still  ex- 
tends in  the  same  way,  in  order  that  the  productions  may 
be  continual ;  for  otherwise  they  would  cease.  For  that 
which  is  first  continually  regards  as  an  end  that  which 
is  last ;  and  unless  the  First  Principle  provided  for  the 
last  continually  from  itself,  through  intermediates,  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  creation,  all  things  would  perish. 
Wherefore  the  productions,  which  are  chiefly  animals  and 
vegetables,  are  the  continuations  of  creation.  It  matters 
not  that  these  continuations  are  effected  by  means  of 
seeds  ;  it  is  still  the  same  creative  force  which  produces. 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


157 


It  is  stated  on  the  experience  of  some  persons  that  there   ) 
are  even  certain  seeds  of  new  species  still  coming  forth 
into  existence.  * 

3.  The  formative  force  is  the  ultimate  force  from  ulti- 
mates ;  for  it  is  the  force  which  produces  animals  and 
vegetables  from  the  ultimate  substances  of  nature  col- 
lected in  the  earth.  The  forces  inherent  in  nature  from 
its  origin,  which  is  the  sun  of  the  world,  are  not  living 
but  dead  forces.  They  are  not  unlike  the  forces  of  heat 
in  man  and  animal,  which  keep  the  body  in  such  a  state, 
that  the  will  by  means  of  its  affection,  and  the  under- 
standing by  means  of  its  thought,  which  are  spiritual, 
may  enter  by  influx,  and  perform  in  it  their  own  opera- 
tions. They  are  again  not  unlike  the  forces  of  light  in 
the  eye,  which  merely  cause  the  mind,  which  is  spiritual, 
to  see  by  means  of  its  own  organ ;  since  it  is  not  the 
light  of  the  world  that  sees,  but  the  mind  by  means  of 
the  light  of  heaven.  It  is  the  same  with  vegetables. 
The  man  is  much  deceived  who  believes  that  the  heat 
and  light  of  the  sun  in  the  world  operate  further  than  to 
open  and  dispose  the  properties  of  nature  to  receive  the 
influx  from  the  spiritual  world. 

98.  V.  That  vegetahles  and  animals  also — both  those 
which  appear  in  heaven,  and  those  which  appear  in  the 
world— eocist  from  a  spiritual  origin,  hj  means  of  these 
forces. 

The  reason  tha,t  these  also  exist  in  heaven  is,  that  these 
forces  are  inherent  in  that  which  is  spiritual,  in  the 
greatest  things  and  in  the  least,  in  first  principles  and  in 
ultimates ;  thus  in  that  which  is  spiritual  both  in  heaven 
and  in  the  world,  its  first  beginnings  being  in  the  former, 
its  ultimate  developments  in  the  latter.  For  there  are 
degrees  of  spiritual  things,  and  every  degree  is  distinct 


158 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED; 


from  another,  a  prior  or  higher  degree  being  more  per- 
fect than  that  which  is  posterior  or  lower.  This  may  be 
shown  from  the  light  and  heat  in  the  heavens,  and  from 
the  wisdom  of  the  angels  derived  from  them.  The  light 
in  the  highest  or  third  heaven,  from  being  of  a  flaming 
quality,  is  so  bright  that  it  surpasses  a  thousand  times 
the  mid-day  light  of  the  world.  In  the  middle  or  second 
heaven  there  is  a  light  less  clear,  but  still  it  surpasses  a 
hundred  times  the  mid-day  light  of  the  world.  In  the 
ultimate  or  first  heaven  there  is  a  light  similar  to  the 
midday  light  of  the  world.  There  are  also  degrees  of 
heat,  which  in  heaven  is  love,  and  according  to  them  the 
angels  possess  their  wisdom,  intelligence,  and  knowledge. 
All  that  is  spiritual  belongs  to  the  light  and  heat  which 
proceed  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  and  from  them  wisdom 
and  intelligence  are  derived.  There  are  also  as  many 
degrees  of  spiritual  things  existing  beneath  the  heavens, 
or  in  nature,  which  are  lower  degrees.  This  may  be 
apparent  from  the  natural  mind  of  man,  from  his  ration- 
ality also,  and  his  sensuality.  Eational  men  are  in  the 
first  degree,  sensual  men  in  the  last,  and  some  are  in  the 
intermediate;  all  the  thought,  moreover,  and  affection 
of  the  natural  mind  are  spiritual.  These  three  forces, 
the  active,  the  creative,  and  the  formative,  are  inherent 
in  that  which  is  spiritual,  in  every  degree  of  it,  but  with 
a  difference  of  perfection.  But  since  there  is  nothing  but 
has  its  own  ultimate,  in  which  it  terminates  and  stops,  so 
also  has  the  spiritual ;  its  ultimate  being  on  the  earth,  in 
its  lands  and  in  its  waters.  From  this  ultimate  again 
the  spiritual  produces  vegetables  of  every  kind — from 
the  tree  to  the  blade  of  grass — and  in  these  it  remains, 
manifesting  itself  merely  in  that  kind  of  resemblance  to 
living  beings,  of  which  we  have  treated  above. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


159 


99.  We  shall  now  make  a  few*  observations  respecting 
the  vegetables  in  heaven ;  the  animals  there  having  been 
treated  of  above.     There  are  in  the  heavens,  as  on  the 
earth,  vegetables  of  every  kind  and  species.     There  are 
there  even  those  which  are  not  found  on  the  earth ;  for 
there  are  compounds  of  genera  and  species,  with  infinite 
variation  also.     This  property  they  derive  from  their 
origin,  of  which  we  shall  speak  below.     The  genera  and 
species  of  vegetables  again  differ  in  the  heavens,  like  the 
genera  and  species  of  the  animals  there,  of  which  we  have 
treated  above.      There  appear  there,   according  to  the 
degrees  of  light  and  heat,  paradisiacal  gardens,  groves, 
fields,  and  plains,  and   in  them  shrubberies,  lawns,  and 
beds  of  flowers.    In  the  inmost  or  third  heaven  especially, 
there  are  groves  of  trees,  the  fruits  of  which  distil  with 
oils;    there  are  beds  of   flowers,   from  which  fragrant 
odors  are  diffused  around,  and  in  the  seeds  of  which 
there  are  delicious  flavors  arising  from  their  fragrance, 
and  the  oil  which  they  contain ;  grass-plots  too  which 
abound  with  similar  perfumes.     In  the  middle  or  second 
heaven  there  are  also  groves  of  trees,  the  fruits  of  which 
distil  with   wines;    and    beds   of   flowers   from   which 
exhale  delightful  odors,  and  the  seeds  of  which  possess 
a  variety  of  delicate  flavors ;    grass-plots  likewise  of  a 
similar  kind.     In  the  lowest  or  first  heaven  there  are 
similar  objects  to  those  in  the  inmost  and  middle  heavens, 
but  w^ith  a  difference  in  the  delights  and  charms  which 
they  possess,  according  to  their  degrees  of  light  and  heat. 
There  are  also  in  the  inmost  heaven  fruits  and  seeds  of 
pure  gold ;  in  the  middle  heaven  the  same  objects  are  of 
silver;  and  in  the  lowest,  of  copper;  there  are  also  flow 
ers  formed  of  precious  stones  and  crystals.     All  these 
are  productions  springing  forth  from  the  earth  there,  for 


•  IGO 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


there  is  earth  there  as  in  the  world  of  nature,  though  its 
productions  are  not  from  seed  that  is  sown,  but  from 
created  seed.     Creation  again  is  there  instantaneous,  its 
duration  being  sometimes  continued,  and  at  others  but 
for  a  moment.     These  objects  all  exist  by  means  of  the 
forces  which  proceed  from  the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun 
in  heaven,  without  any  supplementary  or  auxiliary  forces 
arising  from  the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun  in  the  world. 
Hence  the  material  substances  on  the  earth  of  our  world 
are  fixed,  and  the  germinations  from  it  constant ;  but  the 
substances  on  the  earth  in   heaven  are  not  fixed,  and 
therefore  the  germinations  from  it  are  not  constant.     All 
things  there  are  spiritual  under  a  natural  appearance; 
but  it  is  otherwise  on  the  earth,  which  is  subject  to  the 
sun  of  the  natural  world.     These  particulars  are  adduced 
in  confirmation  of  this  point,  that  there  are  in  everything 
spiritual,  not  only  in  its  first  principles,  but  also  in  its 
last,  whether  it  is  in  heaven  or  in  the  w(^rld,  these  three 
forces,  the  active,  the  creative,  and  the  formative,  and 
that  they  continually  advance  to  their  own  respective 
ultimate,  in  which  they  terminate  and  close.     Hence  it 
is  that  earth  equally  exists  in  the  heavens  ;  for  the  earth 
there  is  these  forces  in  their  ulti mates.     The  difference 
is  that  the  earth  there  is  spiritual  in  its  origin,  while  the 
earth  here  is  natural ;  the  productions  again  from  our 
earth  are  derived  from   that  which  is  spiritual,  through 
nature  as  a  medium,  while  those  on  the  earth  there  are 
formed  without  nature's  assistance. 

100.  VI.  That  both  animals  and  vegetables  have  the  same 
origin^  and  thence  the  same  soul ;  the  only  difference  being 
in  the  forms  into  ivhich  the  influx  is  received. 

It  has  been  shown  above  that  the  origin  of  animals, 
which  also  is  their  soul,  is  a  spiritual  affection,  such  as 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


161 


man  possesses  in  his  natural  principle.     That  the  same 
affection   is   also  the  origin   of   vegetables,   is   evident 
especially  from  the  vegetables  in  the  heavens;  in  their 
appearing  there,  for  instance,  according  to  the  affections 
of  the  angels,  and  representing  them,  so  much  so,  that 
the  angels  behold  and  learn  in  them,  as  in  their  own 
types,   the  quality  of  their  affections ;    and  further,  in 
their  changing  according  to  their  affections.     This,  how- 
ever, occurs  out  of  the  societies.     The  only  difference  is, 
that  it  is  from  the  spiritual  principle  in  its  intermediates, 
that  the  affections  appear   under   the  form  of  animals, 
and  from  the  spiritual  principle  in  its  ultimates  which 
are  the  earth  there,  that  they  appear  under  the  form  of 
vegetables.     For  the  spiritual  principle  in  its  interme- 
diates is  alive,  but  in  its  ultimates  it  is  not  so,  retainino- 
in  the  latter  case  no  more  life  than  is  sufficient  to  produce 
a  resemblance  of  life.     The  case  is  almost  the  same  as  in 
the  human  body,  the  ultimates  in  which,  produced  from 
the  spiritual  principle,  are  the  cartilages,  the  bones,  the 
teeth,  and  the  nails,  the  life,  which   is  from  the  soul, 
terminating  in   them.     It  does   not  at  the  first  view 
appear  that  the  vegetative  soul  is  from  the  same  origin  as 
that  of  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  the  birds  of  heaven,  and 
the  fishes  of  the  sea,  in  consequence  of  the  difference  that 
the  one  lives  and  the  other  does  not.     That  it  is  so,  is 
nevertheless  manifestly  evident  from  the  animals,  as  well 
as  the  vegetables  which  are  seen  in  the  heavens  and  in 
the  hells.     In  the  heavens   there   appear  beautiful  ani- 
mals, and  vegetables  of  a  similar  quality ;    in  the  hells, 
on  the  other  hand,  appear  noxious  animals,  and  vegeta- 
bles of  a  similar  quality.     From    the  appearances  also 
of  the  animals,  and  similarly  from  those  of  the  vegeta- 
bles, the  angels  and  spirits  are  known ;    for  there  is  a 


162 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


complete  agreement  between  their  aflfections  and  these 
appearances.     The  agreement  is  even  of  such  a  nature, 
that  an   animal   may  be   changed   into   a  vegetable  in 
agreement  with  it,  and  a  vegetable  into  an  animal  in 
the  same  condition.     The  angels  of  heaven  know  the 
degree  of  affection  represented  both  in  the  one  and  in  the 
other.     I  have  also  heard  and  perceived  that  it  is  in  each 
case  similar.      I   have   been    permitted   to   understand 
clearly  the  correspondence,  not  only  between  animals, 
but  vegetables  also,  and  the  societies  both  of  heaven  and 
hell,  and  thus  between  them  and  the  affections  of  these 
societies ;  for  societies  and  aflfections  in  the  spiritual  world 
make  one.     Hence  it  is  that  in  so  many  passages  in  the 
Word  mention  is  made  of  gardens,  groves,  forests,  and 
trees,  as  well  as  of  plants  of  various  kinds ;    and  that 
they  there  signify  spiritual  objects   according  to  their 
respective  origins,  which   all  refer  to  aflfections.      The 
difiTerence,  therefore,  between  the  vegetables  in  the  spirit- 
ual world,  and  those  in  the  natural  world  is,  that  in  the 
former  world  they  exist,  both  the  seeds  and  the  germi- 
nations  from  them,  in  a  moment,  according  to  the  affec- 
tions of  the  angels  and  spirits  there ;  while  in  the  latter 
their  origin  is  implanted  in  the  seeds,  from  which  they 
spring  every  year.     There  are  moreover  two  properties 
belonging  to  nature,  viz.,  time  with  its  succession,  and 
space  with   its   extension,    which   do   not   exist  in  the 
spiritual  world  as  properties  belonging  to  it ;  they  are 
there  the  appearances  of  states  of  life  in  those  who  dwell 
there.     Hence  also  it  is,  that  from  the  earth  there,  which 
exists  from  a  spiritual  origin,  the  vegetables  are  produced 
in  a  moment,  and  are  also  in  a  moment  removed.     This 
however  occurs  only  when  the  angels  retire,  for  when 
they  remain,  the  vegetables  continue.     Such  is  the  differ- 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


163 


ence  between  the  vegetables  in  the  spiritual  world  and 
those  in  the  natural. 

101.  VII.   That  this  origin  is  from  use. 
The  reason  of  this  is,  that  aflfections  have  reference  to 
uses  ;  use  being  the  subject  of  all  affection.     For  man 
cannot  be  affected,  unless  it  is  for  the  sake  of  some- 
thing, and  this  something  is  use.     Now  since  all  affection 
supposes  use,  and  the  vegetative  soul,  from  its  spiritual 
origin,  is  affection,  therefore  it  is  also  use.     From  this 
cause  it  is  that  there  is  use  inherent  in  every  vegetable, 
spiritual  use  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  both  spiritual 
and   natural   use   in   the   natural  world;    the  spiritual 
use  being  for  the  various  states  of  the  mind,  and  the 
natural  for  the  various  states  of  the  body.     It  is  well 
known  that  the  spirits   (animi)  are  revived,  refreshed, 
and  excited,  and  again  brought  into  a  state  of  slumber, 
sadness,  and  fainting,  by  the  odors  and  flavors  of  different 
vegetables,  whilst  the  body  also  is  on  the  one  hand 
restored  to   health   by  the   vegetables  themselves,  and 
by  the  various  preparations,  remedies,  and  medicines, 
that  are  made   from    them,   and   is   on  the  other  hand 
deprived  of  life  by  the  poisons  that  are  extracted  from 
them.     The  external  spiritual  use  derived  from  them  in 
the  heavens  is,  the  refreshing  of  the  spirits  ;  the  internal 
is  the  representation  of  divine  things  in  them,  and  thus 
also  the  elevation  of  the  spirits.     For  the  wiser  angels 
see  in  them  the  quality  of  their  affections  in  a  series ; 
the  varieties  of  the  flowers  in  their  order,  the  variegations 
in  their  colors,   the  perfumes  also,  rendering  manifest 
their  affections  and  everything  that  lies  more  remotely 
concealed  within   them.     For   every   ultimate  affection 
which  is  called  natural,  although  it  is  really  spiritual, 
derives  its  quality  from    an    interior  affection   which 


164 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


165 


proceeds  from  intelligence  and  love,  while  these  again 
derive  theirs  from  use  and  the  love  of  ,it.  In  a  word,  no 
<^ik^^  g^^ri^t  hut  u^.  blossoms  from  the  soil  i_n  the  heavens, 
because  use  is  the  vegetative  soul.  And  since  use  is  the 
vegetative  soul,  therefore  it  is  that  in  those  places  in  the 
spiritual  world  which  are  called  deserts  and  are  inhabited 
by  such  as  in  the  present  world  rejected  the  works  of 
charity,  which  are  essential  uses,  there  is  not  the  appear- 
ance of  a  blade  of  grass  or  a  single  herb,  but  all  is  mere 
gravel  and  sand.  By  the  uses  which  alone  blossom  in  the 
heavens,  is  meant  all  good  in  active  operation  ;  and  this 
proceeds  from  the  Lord,  by  means  of  love  to  Him,  and 
towards  the  neighbor.  Every  vegetable  there  represents 
a  form  of  use  ;  and  all  that  appears  in  it — from  its  origin 
to  its  ultimate,  and  from  its  ultimate  to  its  origin,  or 
from  the  seed  to  the  flower,  and  from  the  flower  to 
the  seed — represents  the  progress  and  extension  of  affec- 
tion and  its  use  from  one  end  or  purpose  to  another. 
Those  who  are  skilled  in  botany,  chemistry,  medicine, 
or  pharmacy,  come  after  death  into  the  knowledge  of 
the  spiritual  uses  derived  from  the  vegetables  in  the 
spiritual  world ;  they  also  cultivate  it,  and  derive  from 
it  the  highest  gratification.  I  have  conversed  with  them 
and  heard  from  them  astonishing  things. 

102.  From  the  observations  that  have  been  thus  far 
made  respecting  the  life  which  proceeds  from  the  Lord, 
respecting  also  .the  existence  of  all  things  in  the  universe 
derived  from  it,  every  man  who  is  wise  in  heart  may  see 
that  nature  does  not  produce  anything  from  itself,  but 
that,  for  the  purpose  of  producing,  it  merely  ministers  to 
the  spiritual  principle  proceeding  from  the  sun  of  heaven, 
which  is  the  Lord  ;  as  the  instrumental  cause  ministers  to 
its  principal  cause,  or  a  dead  force  to  its  living  force. 


I 


From  this  it  is  evident  how  much  men  are  in  error,  who 
ascribe  to  nature  the  generations  of  animals  and  produc- 
tions of  vegetables ;  for  they  are  like  those  who  ascribe 
magnificent  and  splendid  works  to  the  tool  rather  than  to 
the  artist,  or  who  worship  a  sculptured  image  in  prefer- 
ence to  God.  The  fallacies,  which  are  innumerable  in  all 
reasoning  on  spiritual,  moral,  and  civil  subjects,  originate 
in  this  source ;  for  a  fallacy  is  the  inversion  of  order ;  it 
is  the  judgment  of  the  eye,  rather  than  of  the  mind,  the 
conclusion  drawn  from  the  appearance  of  a  thing,  rather 
than  from  its  essence.  To  reason  therefore  from  fallacies 
about  the  world  and  the  existence  of  the  things  contained 
in  it  is,  to  confirm  as  it  were  by  argument  that  darkness 
is  light,  that  that  w-hich  is  dead  is  alive,  and  that  the 
body  enters  by  influx  into  the  soul,  rather  than  the  con- 
trary. It  is,  however,  an  eternal  truth  that  influx  is  spir- 
itual, and  not  physical ;  that  is,  it  is  from  the  soul,  which 
is  spiritual,  into  the  body  which  is  natural,  and  from  the 
spiritual  world  into  the  natural ;  and  further  that  it  is 
the  Divine  Being  proceeding  from  Himself,  and  as  He 
created  all  tilings  by  that  which  proceeds  from  Himself, 
so  also  he  sustains  all  things  by  it ;  and  lastly,  that  sus- 
tentation  is  perpetual  creation,  as  subsistence  is  perpetual 
existence. 

103.  We  hav^  treated  of  infinity  and  eternity,  and  also 
of  providence  and  omnipotence,  which  belong  to  the 
Lord  ;  we  must  now  treat  of  omnipresence  and  omni- 
science, which  also  belong  to  Him.  It  is  acknowledged 
in  every  form  of  religion  that  God  is  omnipresent  and 
omniscient.  Hence  it  is  that  men  pray  to  Him  to  hear 
them,  to  look  upon  them,  and  to  have  mercy  upon  them. 
This  they  would  not  do,  unless  they  believed  in  his  omni- 
presence and  omniscience.     Their  belief  is  derived  from 


166 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


an  influx  from  the  spiritual  world  in  the  case  of  those  who 
are  possessed  of  religion ;  for  from  religion  itself  there 
arises  no  question,  whether  the  belief  exists  or  how  it  ex- 
ists.    But  because  at  the  present  day,  and  especially  in  the 
Christian  world,  the  number  of  natural  men  is  increased, 
who  neither  see  anything  of  God,  nor  believe  anything 
of  Him  which  they  do  not  see — for  if  they  profess  to 
believe,  it  is  either  from  some  notion  of  duty,  from  a  blind 
knowledge,  or  from  hypocrisy— and  yet  they  have  the 
power  to  see;   in  order  therefore  that  such  men  may 
exercise  this  power,  permission  is  granted  to  treat  of  the 
subjects  which  relate  to  God,  from  spiritual  light,  and 
from  a  rational  sight  derived  from  it.     For  every  man, 
even  the  merely  natural  and  sensual,  is  endowed  with  an 
understanding  capable  of  elevation  into   the  light  of 
heaven,  and  able  both  to  discern  and  comprehend  spirit- 
ual and  even  divine   subjects.      His  understanding  is 
however  capable  of  this  elevation  only  when  he  hears 
them  or  reads  of  them,  or  afterwards  from  memory  speaks 
of  them ;  for  he  cannot  think  of  them  inwardly  from  him- 
self.    The  reason  of  this  is,  that  whilst  he  hears  or  reads, 
the  understanding  is  separated  from  its  own  affection, 
and  when  it  is  so  separated,  it  is  in  the  light  of  heaven  ; 
but  when  he  thinks  inwardly  from  himself,  the  under- 
standing is  then  conjoined  to  the  affection  of  its  own  will, 
and   this  affection   fills  and   detains   it,    preventing  its 
escape.     But  still  the  true  state  of  the  case  is,  that  the 
undei-standing  can  be  separated  from  the  affection  of  the 
will,  and  thus  be  elevated  into  the  light  of  heaven,  in  the 
case  of  those  natural  men  who  are  in  the  affection  of 
truth,  and  have  not  confirmed  themselves  in^  falsities. 
It  is  however  with  difficulty  that  this  is  done  in  the  case 
of  those  who  are  not  in  the  affection  of  truth,  in  conse- 


THE  ATH.iNASIAN  CREED. 


167 


quence  of  having  rejected  divine  things,  or  confirmed 
themselves  in  falsities.  With  these  there  is  as  it  were  a 
shady  covering  between  spiritual  light  and  natural ;  still 
with  many  this  covering  is  transparent.  Since  then 
every  man  whatever,  even  the  corporeal-sensual,  is,  when 
he  has  reached  maturity,  endowed  with  such  a  faculty  of 
understanding,  that  when  he  hears  or  reads  of  the  sub- 
jects which  relate  to  God,  he  can  comprehend  them,  and 
afterwards  retain  them  in  his  memory,  and  from  that 
speak  of  them,  teach  them,  and  write  about  them,  it  is 
of  importance  that  the  work  on  the  divine  attributes 
should  be  continued  as  it  was  begun.  We  shall  therefore 
now  treat  of  the  divine  omnipresence,  and  the  divine 
omniscience,  lest  the  merely  natural  man,  through  the 
want  of  will  —  which  he  calls  the  want  of  power  —  to 
understand  any  divine  or  spiritual  subject,  should  involve 
them  in  doubt,  so  far  even  as  to  deny  their  existence. 

104.  But  the  way  in  which  the  Lord  can  be  present 
with  all  who  are  in  heaven  and  in  the  whole  earth,  and 
also  know  all  things,  even  the  most  minute,  present  and 
future,  connected  with  them,  is  a  subject  which  cannot 
be  understood,  but  by  means  of  the  following  proposi- 
tions:— 

I.  That  there  are  in  the  natural  world  spaces  and  times, 
but  that  they  are  in  the  spiritual  world  appearances. 

II.  That  spaces  and  times  must  be  removed  from  the 
ideas,  in  order  that  the  omnipresence  of  the  Lord  with 
all  men,  collective  and  several,  as  well  as  His  omniscience 
of  things  present  and  future  connected  with  them,  may 
be  understood. 

III.  That  all  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  all  the  men  on 
earth,  who  form  the  church,  are  as  one  man,  and  that  the 
Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man. 


168 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


IV.  That  consequently  as  there  is  life — in  all  the  seve- 
ral and  most  minute  parts  of  man,  and  it  is  cognizant 
of  their  whole  state,  so  the  Lord  is  in  all  the  several  and 
most  minute  things  belonging  to  the  angels  of  heaven 
and  to  the  men  of  the  church. 

V.  That  the  Lord,  from  the  intellectual  faculty  which 
every  man  possesses,  and  from  its  opposite,  is  also  pres- 
ent with  those  who  are  out  of  the  church — who  are  in 
hell,  or  will  come  into  hell — and  knows  their  whole 
state. 

VI.  That  from  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omniscience 
thus  perceived,  the  understanding  is  enabled  to  see  how 
He  isthe  A^  ^^  ^^^  In-all  of  heaven  and  the  church? 
and  that  we  are  i_n  Ilim,  and  He  inus. 

VII.  That  the  Lord^s  omnipresence  and  omniscience 
may  be  understood  also  from  the  creation  of  the  uni- 
verse ;  for  it  was  so  created  by  Him  that  He  is  in  first 
principles  and  in  ultimates;  in  the  centre  and  at  the 
same  time  in  the  circumferences;  and  that  all  things  in 
which  he  is  are  uses. 

VIII.  That  because  divine  love  and  divine  wisdom 
belong  to  the  Lord,  therefore  divine  omnipresence  and 
divine  omniscience,  proceeding  from  them  both,  belong 
to  Him;  the  former  proceeding  principally  from  divine 
love,  the  latter  principally  from  divine  wisdom. 

105.  I.  Thai  there  are  in  the  natural  world  spaces  and 
times,  but  thai  they  are  in  the  spiritual  world  appearances. 

The  reason  of  this  is,  that  all  things  which  appear  in 
the  spiritual  world  exist  immediately  from  the  sun  of 
heaven,  which  is  the  divine  love  of  the  Lord ;  whereas 
all  things  which  appear  in  the  natural  world  exist  from 
the  same  source,  but  by  means  of  the  sun  of  this  world, 
which  is  pure  fire.     Pure  love,  from  which  all  things 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


1C9 


exist  immediately  from  the  Lord,  is  immaterial;   but 
pure  fire,  through   which  all  things  exist  mediately  in 
the  natural  world,  is  material.     Hence  it  is  that  all  things 
which  exist  in  the  spiritual  world  are,  from  their  orio-in, 
spiritual ;  and  that  all  things  which  exist  in  the  natural 
world,  are,  from  their  secondary  origin,  material.     Mate- 
rial   things   are   also  in   themselves   fixed,  stated,  and 
measurable.     They  are  fixed,  because,  however  the  states 
of  men  change,  they  continue  permanent,  as  the  earth, 
mountains,  and  seas.     They  are  stated,  because  they  con- 
stantly recur  in  their  turns,  as  seasons,  generations,  and 
germinations.     They  are  measurable,  because  all  things 
may  be  defined ;  as  spaces,  by  means  of  miles  and  fur- 
longs, and  these  by  means  of  paces  and  yards;  times 
again,   by  means  of  days,  weeks,   months,   and  years. 
But  in  the  spiritual  world  all  things  are  as  if  they  were 
fixed,  stated,  and  measurable,  but  still  they  are  not  so  in 
reality;  for   they  exist  and  continue  according  to  the 
states  of  the  angels,  so  that  with  these  very  states  they 
make  one ;  they  therefore  vary  also,  as  these  states  vary. 
This  however  occurs  chiefly  in  the  world  of  spirits,  into 
which  every  man  first  comes  after  death ;  it  is  not  the 
case  in  heaven  or  in  hell.     The  reason  that  it  occurs 
there  is,  that  every  man  there  undergoes  changes  of  state, 
and  is  prepared  for  heaven  or  for  hell.     The  spirits  do 
not  however  reflect  upon  these  changes  and  variations, 
because  they  are  spiritual,  and   for    this    reason  have 
spiritual  ideas,  with  which  all  the  collective  and  several 
objects  perceived  by  their  senses  make  one;  because  also 
they  are  separated  from  nature,  but  still  see  in  the  world 
of  spirits  objects  altogether  similar  to  those  which  they 
saw  in  the  natural  world,  as  lands,  mountains,  and  valleys, 
waters,   gardens,   and   forests,  vegetables,  palaces,    and 

8 


■■iiiafinriil«teSsrr!lf^ifeiB!Wjl!S8i 


170 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


houses,  garments  too  with  which  thej  are  clothed,  and 
food  by  which  they  are  nourished,   and  besides  these, 
animals  also,  and  themselves  as  men.     They  see  all  these 
objects  in  a  clearer  light  than  they  saw  similar  objects 
in  the  world,  and  they  perceive  them  also  by  a  more 
exquisite  sense  of  touch.     Hence  it  is  that  man  after 
death  is  not  at  all  aware  that  he  has  put  off  his  material 
covering,  and  migrated  from  the  world  of  his  body  into 
that  of  his  spirit.      I  have  heard  many  men  say  that 
they  were  not  dead,  and  that  they  could  not  conceive 
how  any  portion  of  their  body  could  have  been  cast  into 
the  grave ;  and  for  this  reason,  that  all  objects  in  the 
spiritual  world  are  similar  to  those  in  the  natural.     They 
were  not  aware  that  the  objects  which  are  seen  and  felt 
there  are  not  material,  but  substantial  from  a  spiritual 
origin,    and   that   they   are   notwithstanding    still    real, 
because  they  exist  from  the  same  origin  as  all  the  objects 
in  the  natural  world.     The  only  difference  is  that  an 
additional  covering,  an  over-garment,  so  to  speak,  from 
the  sun,  has  been  given  to  the  objects  which  exist  in  the 
natural  world,  and  from  this  they  became  material,  fixed, 
stated,  and  measurable.     I  can  positively  affirm  that  the 
objects  which  exist  in  the  spiritual  world  are  even  more 
real  than  those  in  the  natural ;  for  that  which  is  in  nature 
added  to  the  spiritual  principle  is  dead,  and  does  not 
produce  reality,  but  diminishes  it.     That  there  is  this 
diminution   arising  from  this  cause,  is  plainly  evident 
from  the  state  of  the  angels  of  heaven  compared  with 
that  of  men  on  earth,  and  from  all  the  objects  existing 
in  heaven  compared  with  all  those  existing  in  the  world. 
106.  Since  there  are  in  heaven  objects  similar  to  those 
which  exist  in  our  world,  there  are  therefore  spaces  and 
times  there  also ;  but  the  spaces,  like  the  earth  itself 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


171 


there  and  the  objects  upon  it,  are  appearances.     For 
they  appear  according  to  the  states  of  the  angels ;  and 
the  extensions  of  spaces,  or  the  distances,  are  according 
to  the  similarities  and  dissimilarities  of  these  states.     By 
states  are  meant  states  of  love  and  wisdom,  or  of  affections 
and   thoughts  derived  from   them,  and  these  states  are 
manifold  and  various ;  according  to  them  is  the  distance 
of  the  angelic  societies  in  the  heavens  from  each  other, 
that  of  the  heavens  also  from  the  hells,  and  that  of  the 
societies  in  them  from  each  other.     I  have  been  permitted 
to  see  how  similarity  of  state,  contracting  the  extension  of 
space  or  distance,  produces  conjunction  ;  and  how  dissimi- 
larity, increasing  such  extension,  causes  separation.  There 
those  who  to  appearance  are  a  mile  distant  from  each 
other,  can  in  a  moment  be  together,  when  the  love  of  the 
one  towards  the  other  is  excited ;    and,    on   the   other 
hand,  those  who  are  conversing  together  can  in  a  moment 
be  a  mile  asunder,  when  any  feeling  of  hatred  is  roused. 
That  spaces  in  the  spiritual  world  are  merely  appearances, 
has  also  been  evident  to  me  from  this,  that  there  have 
become  present  with  me   several  persons    from  distant 
countries,  from  the  various  kingdoms  of  Europe,  for  in- 
stance; from  Africa  and  India;  the  inhabitants  also  of 
other  planets,  and  of  remote  earths.     Spaces  however  still 
appear  in  the  heavens  extended  in  a  similar  manner  to 
those  of  our  earth  ;  but  existing  there  from  a  spiritual 
origin,  and  not  at  the  same  time  from  a  natural  origin, 
and  deriving  their  appearance  from  it,  according  to  the 
states  of  the  angels,  therefore  it  is  that  the  angels  can  have 
no  idea  of  spaces,  but  have  instead  of  it  an  idea  of  their 
own  states.     For  when  the  spaces  are  changeable,  an  idea 
of  states  is  produced  from  an  origin  which  is  spiritual,  that 
is,  according  to  the  similarity  or  dissimilarity  of  affections 


172 


THE   ATHANASIAN    CREED. 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


173 


/ 


and  of  the  thoughts  derived  from  them.      The  case  is 
similar  with  regard  to  periods  of  time,  which  resemble 
spaces ;  for  progressions  through  spaces  are  also  progres- 
sions through  periods  of  time.     The  reason  that  these'also 
are  appearances  of  states  is,  that  the  sun  of  heaven,  which 
is  the  Lord,  does  not  there,  by  means  of  circumvolutions 
and  progressions,  produce  days  and  years,  as  the  sun  of 
the  world  appears  to  do;  and  therefore  it  is  that  there  is 
in   the   heavens  perpetual   light,   as   well   as  perpetual 
spring ;  and  hence  times  there  are  not  fixed,  stated,  or 
measurable.      Since  then  periods  of  time  also  are  varied 
according  to  the  states  of  affections  and  of  the  thoughts 
derived  from  them,  for  they   are  short  and  contracted 
when  the  affections  are  gratified,  but  long  and  protracted 
in  the  opposite  case,  therefore  it  is  that  the  angels  have  no 
idea  of  time  derived  from  appearance,  but  an  idea  of 
states  derived  from  the  origin  of  the  appearance.     From 
these  circumstances  it  is  plain  that  the  angels  in  heaven 
have  no  idea  of  space  and  time ;  their  idea  of  them,  which 
is  spiritual,  being  an  idea  of  state.     But  an  idea  of  state, 
and  the  consequent  idea  of  an  appearance  of  space  and 
time,   exist  only  in  and  from  the  ultimates  of  creation 
there,  which  are  the  earth  upon  which  the  angels  dwell. 
It  is  there  that  there  are  the  appearances  of  spaces  and 
times,  and  not  in  the  spiritual  things  themselves   from 
which  the  ultimates  were  created,  nor  even  in  the  affec- 
tions of  the  angels,  unless  the  thought  derived  from  the 
affections  extends  to  the  ultimates.     But  it  is  otherwise 
in  the  natural  world,  where  spaces  and  times  are  fixed, 
stated,    and    measurable,    and  therefore   enter  into   the 
thoughts  of  men,  and  limit  them,  separating  them  from 
the  spiritual  thoughts  of  the  angels.     It  is  chiefly  from 
this  circumstance  that  man  can  with  difficulty  compre- 


hend the  divine  omnipresence  and  omniscience ;  for  even 
if  he  has  the  will  to  understand  them,  he  may  possibly  fall 
into  the  error  that  God  is  the  inmost  principle  of  nature, 
and  in  this  way  omnipresent  and  omniscient. 

107.  II.  That  spaces  and  times  must  he  removed  from 
the  ideas^  in  order  that  the  omnipresence  of  the  Lord 
with  all  men^  collective  and  several^  as  well  as  His  oinni- 
science  of  things  present  and  future  connected  with  them^ 
may  he  understood. 

Since  however  spaces  and  times  can  with  difficulty  be 
removed  from  the  ideas  of  thought  in  the  natural  man,  it 
is  better  that  the  simple-minded  should  not  think  of  the 
divine  omnipresence  and  omniscience  from  any  reasoning 
of  the  understanding,  but  simply  believe  them  from  a 
principle  of  religion.  If  a  man  of  this  kind  thinks  of 
them  from  reason,  let  him  acknowledge  in  his  own  mind 
that  they  exist,  because  they  are  attributes  of  God,  God 
being  everywhere  and  infinite ;  and  because  the  Word 
also  teaches  this.  If  again  he  thinks  of  them  from  nature, 
and  from  space  and  time  which  belong  to  it,  let  him 
acknowledge  again  in  his  own  mind  that  they  have  a 
miraculous  origin.  But  because  at  the  present  day  natu- 
ralism has  almost  deluged  the  church,  and  can  only  be 
dispersed  by  means  of  rational  arguments  which  will 
enable  man  to  see  that  this  is  the  case,  these  divine  attri- 
butes shall  therefore  be  placed  in  their  true  light,  and 
cleared  of  the  darkness  with  which  nature  overspreads 
them.  This  can  moreover  be  done,  because,  as  was  before 
said,  the  understanding  conferred  upon  man  is  capable  of 
elevation  into  the  interior  light  of  heaven,  provided  only 
he  desires,  from  a  principle  of  love,  to  be  acquainted  with 
truths.  A[l  naturalism  arises  from  thinking  of  divine 
subjects  from  the  properties  of  nature,  which  are  matter, 


174 


'HE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


space,  and  time.    The  mind  which  is  riveted  to  these 
properties,  and  unwilling  to  believe  anything  that  it  does 
not  understand,  cannot  do  otherwise  than  blind  its  under- 
standing,  and  from  the  darkness  into  which  it  has  plunged 
It,  deny  that  any  Divine  Providence  exists,  and  thence 
affirm  that  there  is  neither  Omnipotence,  Omnipresence, 
nor  Omniscience.     These  attributes  nevertheless  are,  pre- 
cisely as  religion  teaches,  both  within  nature  and  above 
It,  but  they  cannot  be  comprehended  by  the  understand- 
ing unless  space  and  time  are  removed  from  its  ideas  in 
thinking  on  the  subject;  for  these  properties  of  matter 
are,  in  some  way  or  other,  inherent  in   every  idea  of 
thought.     If  therefore  they  are  not  removed,   no  other 
thought  can  be  formed  than  that  nature  is  everything, 
that  it  is  self-existent,  that  life  is  derived  from  it,  that  its 
inmost  principle  is  that  which  is  called  God,  and  that  all 
besides  it  is  imaginary.      I  know  that  men  will  also  be 
astonished  to  hear  that  there  is  any  existence  where  there 
IS  neither  time  nor  space;  that  the  Divine  principle  itself 
exists  without  them;  and  that  spiritual  beings   do  not 
exist  in  them,  but  merely  in  the  appearances  of  them— 
though  divine  spiritual  things  are  at  the  same  time  the  * 
very  essences  of  all  things  that  have  ever  existed  or  that 
still  exist— and  that  natural  things  without  spiritual  thin-s 
are  like  bodies  without  souls,  which  become  merecarcasel 
Every  man  who  ha^  become  a  naturalist,  by  means  of 
thought  derived  from   nature,  remains   such   also  after 
death,  calling  all  the  objects  that  he  sees  in  the  spiritual 
world  natural,  because  they  are  similar  to  those  in  the 
natural  world.     Men  of  this  kind  are  however  enlightened 
and  taught  by  the  angels  that  these  objects  are  not  natural, 
but  that  they  are  the  appearances  of  natural  things,  and 
they  are  convinced  so  far  as  to  affirm  that  this  is  the  case. 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


175 


Still  they  relapse  and  worship  nature,  as  they  had  done 
in  the  world,  until  at  length,  separating  themselves  from 
the  angels,  they  fall  into  hell,  and  cannot  be  rescued  from 
it  to  eternity.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  their  soul  is  not 
spiritual  but  natural,  like  that  of  the  beasts,  with  the 
faculty  still  of  thinking  and  speaking,  because  they  were 
born  men.  Now  because  the  hells  are  at  this  day,  more 
than  at  any  former  period,  filled  with  men  of  this  class, 
it  is  of  importance  that  darkness  so  dense  arising  from 
nature  closing  and  barring  up  the  thresholds  of  men's 
understandings,  should  be  removed  by  means  of  rational 
light  derived  from  spiritual. 

108.  III.  That  all  the  angels  of  heaven  and  all  the  men 
on  earthy  who  form  the  churchy  are  as  one  man^  and  that  the 
Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man. 

This  point  may  be  seen  established  in  the  work  on 
Heaven  and  Hell,  under  the  following  articles: — 1st, 
That  the  whole  heaven  in  the  complex  has  reference  to 
one  man,  n.  59-67.  2nd,  That  each  society  in  the 
heavens  has  reference  to  one  man,  n.  68-72.  3rd,  That 
hence  every  angel  is  in  a  perfect  human  form,  n.  73-77; 
and  4th,  That  heaven  in  the  whole  and  in  part  has  refer- 
ence to  man,  being  derived  from  the  Divine  Human  of 
the  Lord,  n.  78-87 ;  that  there  is  also  a  correspondence 
between  all  the  things  of  heaven  and  all  the  things  of 
man,  n.  87-102 ;  that  the  same  may  be  said. of  the  Lord's 
church  on  earth,  n.  57.  Experience  has  taught  noe^and 
reason  still  teaches,  that  heaven  is^  if  one  man.  Expe- 
rience has  taught  me  this  in  the  following  manner :  I 
have  been  permitted  to  see  a  society,  consisting  of  thou- 
sands of  angels,  as  one  man  of  moderate  stature ;  soci- 
eties also  consisting  of  fewer  angels  in  a  similar  manner. 
This  however  is  not  apparent  to  the  angels  in  any  soci- 


) 


•>~3 


176 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


ety,  but  to  those  who  are  out  of  it  and  at  a  distance  from 
It,  and  at  such  times  as  a  society  is  to  be  cleared  of 
strangers.     For  when  this  takes   place,  all   those  who 
form  the  society's  life,  are  within  the  man  and  remain 
but  those  who  do  not  form  it  are  not  so,  and  are  re- 
moved.    The  case  is  similar  with  the  whole  heaven  in 
presence  of  the  Lord.     It  is  from  this  cause  and  from 
this  cause  alone,  that  every  angel  and  spirit  is  a  man 
m  form  similar  to  that  in  which  he  is  a  man  on  earth. 
I  have  not    indeed  seen,   but  I  have   heard,  that  the 
church  also  on  earth  is  before  the  Lord    as  one  man, 
that  it  is  also  divided  into  societies,  and  that  each  society 
is  a  man;  and  further,  that  all  who  are  comprehended 
within  this  man  are  within  heaven,  but  those  who  are 
not  so,  are  in  hell.     The  reason  again  of  this  has  been 
stated,  that  every  man  belonging  to  the  church  is  also 
an  angel  of  heaven,  for  he  becomes  an  angel  after  death. 
The  church  moreover  on  earth,  together  with  the  angels, 
forms  not  only  the  interiors  of  this  man,  but  also  the 
exteriors,  which  are  called  cartilaginous  and  bony.     The 
church  forms  this,  because  men  on   earth  are  endued 
with  a  body,  in  which  the  ultimate  spiritual  principle  is 
clothed  with  the  natural,  and  it  is  this  that  constitutes 
the  conjunction  of  heaven  with  the  church,  and  of  the 
church  with  heaven.     The  same  lesson  is  taught  from 
reason :  The  sole  cause  that  heaven  and  the  church  are 
a  man  in  the  greatest,  the  less,  and  the  least  concrete  or 
complex  is,  that  God  is  Man,  and  hence  the  divine  pro- 
ceeding, which  is  the  divine  principle  from  Ilim,  is  simi- 
lar in  everything,  least  and  greatest,  that  is  man.     For, 
as  was  said  above,  the  divine  principle  is  not  in  space 
and  extended,  but  it  causes  spaces  and  extensions  to 
exist  in  the  ultimates  of  His  creation,  in  the  heavens 


THE  ATflANASIAN   CREED. 


177 


apparently,  but  in  the  world  actually.     But  still  spaces 
and  extensions  aJ^e  not  such  before  God,  for  He  in  His 
djvine  principle  is  everywhere.     This  is  clearl;^evrdenl; 
from  the  circumstance  that  the  whole  angelic  heaven, 
together  with  the  church,  is  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
as  one  man ;  in  like  manner  a  society  consisting  of  thou- 
sands of  angels  is  so,  although  their  habitations  appear 
extended  through  much  space.     It  is  also  evident  from 
this  that  the  whole  heaven  or  an  entire  society  in  heaven 
can,  at  the  good  pleasure  of  the  Lord,  appear  as  a  man] 
great  or  small,  as  a  giant  or  as  an  infant.     And  yet  it  is 
notjhe  angels  that  ap£ear  3  but  the  djyme  principle  in 
them ;  for  the  angels  are  only  recipients  of  the  divine 
Erinciple  from  the  Lord,  and  the  diving  principle  in  them 
/?™£  the  angelic  principle,  and  thence  heaven.    Because 
the  angels  are  only  recipients,  and  the  divine  principle 
in  them  forms  the  angelic  principle  and  heaven,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man,  that  is,  of 
heaven  and  the  church. 

109.  rv.  That  consequently  as  tliere  is  life  in  all  the  seve- 
ral and  most  minute  parts  of  man,  and  it  is  cognizant  of 
Iheir  lohoh  state,  so  the  Lord  is  in  all  the  several  and  most 
minute  things  belonging  to  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  to  tlie 
men  of  the  church. 

The  reason  that  there  is  life  in  all  the  several  and  most 
minute  parts  of  man  is,  that  the  various  and  diverse 
things  existing  in  him,  which  are  called  members,  or- 
gans, and  viscera,  numerous  as  they  are,  so  make  one 
that  he  has  no  other  knowledge  than  that  he  is  a  simple, 
rather  than  a  compound  being.  That  there  is  life  in  his 
most  minute  parts  is  evident  from  the  following  facts-— 
that  from  his  own  life  he  sees,  hears,  smells,  and  tastes, 
which  would  not  be  the  case,  unless  the  organs  of  those 

8* 


178 


TUE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


179 


senses  also  lived  from  the  life  of  his  soul ; — that  the 
whole  surface  of  his  body  is  endued  with  the  sense  of 
touch,  since  it  is  the  life,  and  not  the  skin  without  it, 
which  produces  this  sense; — that  all  the  muscles  beneath 
the  skin  are  under  the  control  of  the  life  of  his  will  and 
understanding,  and  are  moved  at  their  pleasure ;  thus 
not  only  are  the  hands  and  feet  moved,  and  the  entire 
body,  but  the  tongue  also,  the  lips,  the  face,  and  the 
whole  head.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  can  be 
moved  by  the  body  alone,  but  by  the  life  derived  from 
the  will  and  the  understanding,  together  with  the  life  in 
the  members  themselves.  The  case  is  similar  with  every 
one  of  the  viscera  in  the  body,  each  performing  there 
its  own  office,  and  acting  with  willing  obedience,  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  order  inscribed  upon  them.  It  is, 
however,  the  life  which  produces  this  activity,  while 
man  is  unconscious  of  it,  by  means  of  motion  in  all  the 
several  parts,  derived  from  the  heart  and  the  lungs ;  and 
by  means  also  of  sensation  in  all  the  several  parts,  de- 
rived from  the  cerebellum.  The  reason  that  there  is  life 
in  all  the  several  and  most  minute  parts  of  man  is,  that 
the  animal  form,  of  which  we  have  treated  above,  is  the 
essential  form  of  life.  For  life  from  its  first  source,  which 
is  the  sun  of  heaven  or  the  Lord,  is  perpetually  in  the 
effort  of  forming  a  likeness  and  image  of  itself,  that  is, 
man,  and  out  of  man  an  angel ;  and  therefore  from  the 
ultimates,  which  it  created,  it  attaches  to  itself  substances 
suitable  in  form,  that  by  their  means  man  may  exist,  in 
whom  it  may  live.  Hence  it  is  plain,  that  there  is  life 
in  all  the  several  and  most  minute  parts  of  man ;  and 
that  the  part  or  even  the  particle  in  which  there  is  no 
life,  becomes  dead  and  is  dissevered.  Since  then  men 
and  angels  are  not  life,  but  only  recipients  of  life  from 


V 


the  Lord,  and  since  the  whole  heaven,  with  the  church, 

is  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  as  one  man,  it  is  evident 
that  the  Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man,  that  is,  of  heaven 

and  the  church,  and  further  that  He  is  omnipresent  and 
omniscient  in  all  the  several  and  most  minute  thinsrs 
belonging  to  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  to  the  men  of  the 
church.  Because  the  whole  heaven  together  with  the 
church  is  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord  as  one  man,  accord- 
ing to  His  will  great  or  small,  as  a  giant  or  as  an  infant, 
it  is  evident,  that  the  life  or  spiritual  principle,  which 
proceeds  from  the  Lord,  is  not  in  space,  or  extended 
with  the  angels  of  heaven,  or  with  the  men  of  the  church, 
consequently  that  spaces  and  times  must  be  removed 
from  the  ideas,  in  order  that  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and 
omniscience  with  all  men,  collective  and  several,  may  be 
understood. 

110.  V.  That  the  Lord^  from  the  intellectual  fouculty  which 
every  man  possesses j  and  from  its  opposite^  is  also  present 
vnth  those  who  are  out  of  the  church — who  are  in  hell,  or 
will  come  into  hell — and  knows  their  whole  state. 

Every  man  has  three  degrees  of  life ;  the  lowest  is 
common  to  him  with  the  beasts ;  but  the  two  higher  are 
not  so.  It  is  by  means  of  these  two  higher  degrees  that 
man  is  man ;  they  are  closed  with  the  wicked,  but  are 
open  with  the  good.  They  are  not  however  closed  with 
reference  to  the  light  of  heaven,  which  is  wisdom,  and 
proceeds  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  ;  but  they  are  so  with 
reference  to  the  heat,  which  is  love,  and  proceeds  at  the 
same  time  from  the  same  source.  Hence  it  is  that  every 
man,  even  the  wicked,  has  the  faculty  of  understanding, 
though  not  that  of  willing,  from  heavenly  love.  For  the 
will  is  the  receptacle  of  heat,  that  is  of  love ;  and  the 
understanding  is  the  receptacle  of  light,  that  is  of  wisdom, 


180 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


181 


from  this  sun.     The  reason  that  every  man  is  not  intelli- 
gent and  wise  is,  that  he  who  is  not  so  had  by  means  of 
his  life  closed,  in  his  case,  the  receptacle  of  this  love ; 
and  this  being  closed,  he  has  no  will  to  understand  any- 
thing else  than  that  which  he  loves  ;  for  it  is  this  that  he 
wills  and  loves  to  be  the  object  of  his  thoughts,    and 
hence  also  of  his  understanding.     Since  then  every  man, 
even   the   wicked,    has   the   faculty   of   understanding, 
derived  from  the  influx  of  light  from  the  sun   which  Ts 
the  Lord,  it  is  plain  that  the  Lord  is  present  with  those 
who  are  out  of  heaven  and  the  church,  and  who  are  either 
in  hell,  or  will  go  thither.     It  is  from  this  faculty  also 
that  man  has  the  power  of  thinking  and  reasoning  on  a 
variety  of  subjects  of  which  beasts  are  incapable ;  and 
from  this  faculty   again  it  is  that  man  lives  for  ever. 
Another  proof  of  the  Lord's  omnipresence  in  hell  is,  that 
the  whole  of  hell,  equally  with  the  whole  of  heaven,  is 
before  the  Lord  as  one  man  ;  but  in  this  case  it  is  a  man 
in  the  form  of  a  devil,  that  is,  a  monster.     With  him  all 
things  are  in  opposition  to  those  which  are  in  the  divine 
man-angel,  and  therefore  from  the  latter  is  known  every- 
thing that  exists  in  the  former ;  that  is,  from  heaven  is 
known  everything  that  exists  in  hell.     For  from  good 
evil  is  known,  and  from  truth  falsity  ;  thus  all  the  quality 
of  the  latter  from  that  of  the  former.      There  are  three 
heavens  and  three  hells;  and  as  the  former  are  divided 
into  societies,  so  also  are  the  latter  ;  every  society  in  hell 
corresponding,  by  contrast,  to  a  society  in  heaven,  the 
correspondence  being  like  that  between  good  and  evil 
affections ;  for  all  the  societies  are  affections.     Thus  as 
each  society  in  heaven  is,  as  has  been  said,  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord  like  one  man,  an  angel  in  the  similarity  of 
its  affections;  so  also  each  society  in  hell  is  in  the  sight 


of  the  Lord  like  one  man,  a  devil  in  the  similarity  of  its 
evil  affection.  I  have  been  permitted  to  see  this.  The 
societies  of  this  latter  kind  appear  indeed  as  men,  but  of 
a  monstrous  form  ;  I  have  seen  three  kinds  of  them, 
the  fiery,  the  black,  and  the  pallid ;  all  of  them  have 
however  deformed  features,  a  husky  tone  of  voice,  exter- 
nal speech,  and  a  corresponding  demeanor.  They  all 
without  exception  show  an  utter  absence  of  chastity,  the 
delights  of  their  will  are  evils,  and  those  of  their  thought 
falsities. 

111.  VI.  That  from  the  Lord^s  omni'presence  and  omni- 
science thus  perceived^  the  understanding  is  enabled  to  see 
how  He  is  the  All  and  the  In-all  of  heaven  and  the  churchy 
and  that  we  are  in  Him^  and  He  in  us. 

By  all  things  of  heaven  and  the  church  are  meant  the 
divine  truth  and  the  divine  good  ;  the  former  being 
derived  from  the  light  of  the  sun  of  heaven,  which  is 
wisdom;  the  latter  from  its  heat,  which  is  love.  The 
angels,  in  proportion  as  thej^  are  recipients  of  these 
principles,  are  heaven  generally,  as  well  as  heavens 
individually ;  and  men,  in  proportion  as  they  are  reci- 
pients of  them,  are  the  church  generally,  as  well  as 
churches  individually.  There  is  not  belong no^  t^  any 
angel  anything  which  forms  heaven  iji  him,  nor  arr^thing 
belonging  to  any  man  which  forms  the  church  in  him, 
except  the  Divine  proceeding  from  the  Lord  ;  for  it  is 
well  known  that  all  the  truth  of  faith  and  all  the  good 
of  love  are  from  the  Lord,  and  no  portion  of  them  from 
man.  From  this  it  is  evident  that  tjbe  Lord  is  the  All 
and  the  In-all  of  heaven  and  the  church.  The  Lord 
teaches  in  John  that  we  are  in  Him  and  He  in  us: 
"  Jesus  said.  He  that  eateth  My  flesh  and  drinketh  My 
blood,  dwelleth  in  Me  and  I  in  him  '^  (vi.  56).     And 


I 


182 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


again 


"  In  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  ye  are  in  Me, 
and  I  in  you  "  (xiv.  20,  21) ;  and  elsewhere,  "  In  Him 
we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being."  All  the  angels 
of  heaven  and  all  the  men  of  the  church  are  in  the  Lord, 
and  the  Lord  is  in  them,  when  they  are  in  the  heavenly 
man  spoken  of  above.  Angels  and  men  are  then  in  the 
Lord,  because  they  are  recipients  of  life  from  Him,  thus 
are  in  His  divine  principle ;  and  the  Lord  is  in  them,  be- 
cause He  is  the  life  in  the  recipients.  Hence  it  is  evi- 
denty  that. all  who  are  in  a  natural  idea  o{_  the  Lord,  are 
unablfi  to  understand  his  omnipresence  in  any  other  way 
than  as  intuitive,  although  it_  is  actual,  like  the  omni- 
presence of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  the  Divine  pro- 
ceeding. 

112.  VII.  That  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omni- 
science may  he  understood  also  from  the  creation  of  the 
universe  y  for  it  was  so  created  hy  Ilim^  that  He  is  in 
first  princijjles  and  in  ultimates^  in  the  centre  and  at 
the  same  time  in  the  circumferences^  and  that  all  things 
in  which  He  is  are  uses. 

The  truth  of  this  proposition  is  evident  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  universe,  from  the  life  of  man,  and  from  the 
essence  of  uses. 

I.  From  the  creation  of  the  universe.  This  cannot  be 
elsewhere  better  seen  than  from  the  types  of  it  in  the 
heavens,  creation  being  there  perpetual  and  instantaneous. 
For  in  the  spiritual  world  lands  exist  in  a  moment,  and 
upon  them  paradisiacal  gardens,  in  which  there  are  trees 
laden  with  fruits,  shrubs  also,  with  flowers  and  plants  of 
every  kind.  When  these  are  contemplated  by  the  wise 
man,  they  are  found  to  be  correspondences  of  the  uses  in 
which  the  angels  are  principled,  to  whom  they  are  given 
as  a  reward.     For  the  angels  are,  according  to  their  uses, 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


183 


presented  with  houses  abounding  in  furniture  and  orna- 
ment with  clothinor  also,  and  food  which  is  deliojhtful  to 
the  taste.  They  enjoy  besides  delightful  intercourse  with 
each  other,  which  is  also  productive  of  uses,  because  it 
serves  as  the  means  of  recreation.  All  these  things  are 
bestowed  upon  them  without  money  or  price,  but  still  it 
is  on  account  of  the  uses  which  they  perform.  In  a 
word,  the  whole  heaven  is  full  of  uses,  so  that  it  ought 
to  be  called  the  very  kingdom  of  uses.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  those  who  perform  no  use  are  banished  to  the 
hells,  where  they  are  compelled  by  a  judge  to  do  various 
kinds  of  work.  If  they  refuse,  there  is  no  food  given 
them,  or  clothing,  or  any  other  bed  than  the  ground,  and 
they  are  mocked  and  insulted  by  their  companions,  as 
slaves  by  their  masters;  the  judge  even  allows  them  to 
be  made  their  slaves,  and  if  they  entice  others  from  their 
work,  they  are  severely  punished.  The  one  kind  of 
treatment  as  well  as  the  other  is  adopted  towards  them, 
until  they  are  compelled  to  yield.  But  those  who  can- 
not be  made  to  yield  are  cast  out  into  deserts,  where  they 
have  a  morsel  of  bread  given  them  daily,  with  water  to 
drink,  and  pass  a  solitary  existence  in  huts  or  in  caverns. 
Because  they  perform  no  uses,  the  earth  around  them  is 
so  barren  that  a  sod  with  a  blade  of  grass  upon  it  is  but 
seldom  seen.  I  have  seen  in  these  deserts  and  hells  many 
men  of  noble  descent,  who  in  the  world  gave  themselves 
up  to  idleness,  or  sought  for  office,  the  duties  of  which 
they  discharged,  not  for  the  sake  of  uses,  but  for  the  sake 
of  honor  or  gain,  the  only  uses  they  had  in  view.  The 
uses  which  the  angels  perform  in  the  heavens,  and  the 
different  kinds  of  work  which  the  spirits  do  in  the  hells, 
are  in  some  measure  similar  to  those  which  exist  in  the 
world.     Most  of  the^uses  are  however  spiritual,  and  can- 


a!i«ii»e^::;S".'2SS3igS'!S: 


181 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


no  be  described  in  natural  language;  tbej  do  not  even 
fall  with.n  tbe  ideas  of  natural  thought-a  circumstance 
at  wliich  I  have  often  wondered ;  but  such  is  the  nature 
of  that  which  IS  spiritual  in  very  many  cases.     From  the 
perpetual  and  instantaneous  creation  of  all  thino-s  in  the 
heavens  may  be  seen  as  in  a  figure,  the  creation  of  the 
whole  world  with  its  earths,  there  being  nothing  created 
in  the  latter  but  for  use.     As  a  general  principle,  one 
kingdom  of  nature  was  created  for  the  sake  of  another  • 
the  mmeral  kingdom  for  the  sake  of  the  vegetable,  the 
vegetable  for  the  sake  of  the  animal,  and  both  the  latter 
kingdoms  for  the  sake  of  the  human  race,  that  its  mem- 
bers may  serve  the  Lord  by  performing  uses  to  the 
neighbor. 

11.  From  the  life  of  man.     For  if  the  life  of  man  is  re- 
garded from  the  creation  of  all  things  existing  in  him 
there  will  be  found  no  part  which  is  not  adapted  for  use 
not  a  fibre  or  a  vessel  in  the  brains,  in  the  organs  of  the 
senses,  in  the  muscles,  or  in  any  one  of  the  viscera  of  the 
thorax  or  abdomen,  or  in  any  of  the  others,  which  does 
not  exist  for  the  sake  of  use  generally  and  individually, 
thus  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  whole 
and  the  consociation  of  the  parts.     Even   the  greater 
forms  which  are  called  members,  sensories,  muscles,  and 
viscera,  woven  together  and  organized,  from  fibres  and 
vessels,  are  all  from  use,  in  use,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
use,  so  much  so,  that  they  may  be  simply  called  the  uses 
out  of   which  the  whole  man  is  woven  together  and 
formed,  it  being  clearly  evident  that  they  have  no  other 
origin  or  end  but  use.     That  every  man  is  in  a  similar 
manner  created  and  born  for  use,  is  plain  from  the  use 
of  all  things  in  his  physical  frame,  and  from  his  state 
after  death  being  such,  that,  if  he  dpes  not  perform  any 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


185 


use,  he  is  considered  so  worthless  that  he  is  cast  into 
infernal  prisons,  or  into  desert  places.    His  life  also  indi- 
cates plainly  that  he  was  born  to  be  use ;  for  the  man 
whose  life  consists  in  the  love  of  use,  is  entirely  different 
from  one  whose  life  consists  in  the  love  of  idleness,  by 
which  is  also  meant  a  life  devoted  to  company,  festivity, 
and  public  amusements.     A  life  originating  in  the  love 
of  use  is  a  life  of  love  both  of  the  public  good,  and  of  our 
neighbor ;  it  is  moreover  a  life  of  love  to  the  Lord,  for 
the  Lord  performs  uses  to  man  by  the  agency  of  man. 
Hence  a  life  originating  in  the  love  of  use  is  a  divine 
spiritual  life,  and  therefore  every  man  who  loves  good 
use,  and  from  the  love  of  it  performs  it,  is  loved  by  the 
Lord  and  received  with  joy  by  the  angels  in  heaven.     But 
a  life  originating  in  a  love  of  idleness,  is  a  life  of  self-love 
and  of  the  love  of  the  world  ;  and  hence  it  is  a  merely 
natural  life,  which  does  not  keep  the  thouglits  of  man 
together,  but  scatters  them  upon  every  vanity,  by  this 
means  turning  them  away  from  the  delights  of  wisdom, 
and  plunging  him  into  those  of  the  mere  body  and  the 
world,  with  which  evils  are  in  close  connexion.     Hence 
it  is  that  a  man  of  such  a  life  is  after  death  let  down  into 
the  infernal  society  to  which  he  had  attached  himself  in 
the  world,  and  is  there,  by  the  force  of  hunger  and  the 
want  of  food,  compelled  to  work.     By  uses  in  the  hea- 
vens  and  on  earth  are  meant  the  services,  calling,  and 
pursuits  of  Ijfe,  the  various  kinds  of  work^  servitude,  and" 
labor,  and  thence  all_that  is  opposite  to  idleness  and^ 
sloth.  ^ 

III.  From  the  essence  of  uses.  For  the  essence  of  uses  is 
the  public  good,  by  which  is  meant  with  the  angels  in 
the  most  general  sense,  the  good  of  the  whole  heaven,  in 
a  less  general  sense  the  good  of  society,  and  in  a  particu- 


186 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


lar  sense  the  good  of  a  fellow-citizen.      With  men  again 
the  essence  of  uses  is,  in  the  most  general  sense,  the  good 
both  spiritual  and  civil  of  the  whole  human  race ;  in  a 
less  general  sense,  the  good  of  their  country ;  in  a  parti- 
cular sense,  the  good  of  society ;  and  in  an  individual 
sense,  the  good  of  a  fellow-citizen ;  because  these  goods 
form  their  essence,  love  is  their  life,  since  all  good  ori- 
ginates in  love,  and  in  love  there  is  life.     Every  one  is  in 
this  love  who  is  delighted  with  the  use  in  which  he  is 
principled  for  the  sake  of  such  use,  whether  he  is  a  king, 
a  magistrate,  a  priest,  a  minister,  a  general,  a  merchant, 
or  a  laborer.     Every  one  who  is  delighted  with  the  use 
of  his  calling  for  the  sake  of  such  use,  loves  his  country 
and  his  fellow-citizens  ;  but  he  who  is  not  delighted  with 
uses  for  the  sake  of  uses,  but  performs  them  only  for  the 
sake  of  self  or  of  mere  honor  and  wealth,  does  not  at 
heart  love  his  country  or  his  fellow-citizens,  but  merely 
himself  and  the  world.     The  reason  of  that  is,  that  no 
one  can  be  kept  by  the  Lord  in  the  love  of  his  neighbor, 
unless  he  is  in  some  degree  of  love  for  the  public  good ; 
and  no  one  is  in  such  love  unless  he  is  in  the  love  of  use 
for  the  sake  of  use,  or  in  the  love  of  use  from  use,  thus 
from  the  Lord.     Now  since  all  things,  collective  and 
several,  were  at  the  beginning  created  in  the  world  for 
use,  and  all  things  also  in  man  were  formed  for  use,  and 
the  Lord  from  creation  regarded  a^  one  man  the  wbolg 
human  race,  each  member  of  which  is  in  a  similar  manner 
designed  for  use  or  is  use,  and  since  the  Lord  Ilimself  js, 
as  was  said  above,  the  life  of. this  man,  it  is  plain  that  the 
universe  was  so  created  that  the  Lord  is  in  first  princi- 
ples and  in  ultimates,  in  the  centre  also  and  in  the  cir- 
cumferences, that  is,  in  the  midst  of  all  things;  and  that 
all  things  in  which  He  is  are  uses.     From  these  circum- 


THE   ATH  AN  ASIAN   CREED. 


187 


stances  also  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omniscience 
may  be  understood. 

113.  VIII.  That  because  divine  love  and  divine  wisdom 
belong  to  the  Lord^  therefore  divine  omnipresence  and  divine 
omniscience^ proceeding  from  them  both,  belong  to  Him;  tJie 
former  proceeding  principally  from  divine  love,  the  latter 
principally  from  divine  vjisdom. 

Love  and  wisdom  in  the  Lord  are  not  two  but  one ; 
and  this  one  is  the  divine  love,  which  before  the  angels 
in  heaven  appears  as  a  sun.     But  the  love  and  wisdom 
proceeding  from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  appear  as  two  distinct 
things,  the  love  as  heat,  and  the  wisdom  as  light;  but 
both,  in  virtue  of  their  origin  from  the  sun,  act  as  one. 
They  are  however  separated  with  the  angels  of  heaven, 
and  with  the  men  of  the  church ;  some,  who  receive  the  love 
w^hich  is  heat  more  than  the  wisdom  which  is  light,  are 
called  celestial  angels  and  men  ;  and  others,  who  receive 
the  wisdom  which  is  light  more  than  the  love  which  is 
heat,  are  called  spiritual  angels  and  men.      These  points 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  sun  of  the  world,  in  w^hich  fire 
and  the  origin  of  light  are  entirely  one— this  one  being 
the  fiery  property  of  the  sun.     From  this  sun  proceed 
heat  and  light,  which  appear  as  two  distinct  things,  but 
still,  in  virtue  of  their  origin,  they  act  as  one;  this  one- 
ness of  action  being  apparent  on  the  earth  in  the  seasons 
of  spring  and  summer.     They  become  however  two  dis- 
tinct things,  according  to  the  turning  of  the  earth  with 
regord  to  the  sun,  and  thus  also  according  as  the  recep- 
tion of  the  sun's  influence  is  direct  or  oblique.     This  cor- 
respondence may  serve  as  an  illustration.     The  case  is 
similar  with  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omniscience ; 
they  are  in  Him  one,  but  still  they  proceed  from  Him  as 
two  distinct  attributes ;  the  former  having  reference  to 


188 


THE  ATHANASIAX   CREED. 


love,  and  the  latter  to  wisdom ;  or,  wHat  is  the  same 
thing,  the  former  referring  to  good,  and  the  latter  to 
truth,  because  all  good  originates  in  love,  and  all  truth  in 
wisdom.  The  reason  that  theLord's  omnipresence  refers 
to  love  and  good  is,  that  the  Lord  is  present  with  man  in 
the  good  which  originates  in  his  love;  and  the  reason 
that  His  omniscience  refers  to  wisdom  and  truth  is,  that 
by  virtue  of  man's  good  which  originates  in  his  love.  He 
is  omnipresent  in  the  truths  of  his  understanding;  and 
this  omnipresence  is  called  omniscience.  The  case  is  the 
same  with  all  men  generally,  as  it  is  with  one  man  indi- 
vidually. 


13(r^^^^ 


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ALPHABETICAL  AND  ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 

T/MJ  mifnhers  refer  to  the  Varaqraplis^  and  fiot  to  the  Pages, 


Acknowledgment  (The  quality  of)  is 
precisely  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
love,  89. 

Ohn.—lhe  word  acknowledgment,  in  the 
writings  of  the  Author,  is  almost  always 
taken  in  the  acceptation  of  knowledge 
resulting  from  a  profound  examina- 
tion. 

Act  as  from  himself  (To\  or  by  man'a 
own  power,  49,  61,  72,  and  elsewhere. 

AcTiviTiKS  ( That  all)  are  changes  of 
state,  and  variations  of  forms,  45 

Adouations  (The)  offered  to'  men  living 
and  dead,  to  sepulchres  also,  to  dead 
bodies,  and  to  bones,  is  a  demoniacal 
means  of  worship,  originating  in  the  love 
of  self,  79. 

Affkctions.    The  meaning  of  the  term 
afifection   is  similar  to  that  of  love.    But 
love  is  as  it  were  the  fountain,  and  affec- 
tions are  as  it  were  the  streams  flowing 
from  It ;  they  are  thus  also  continuations  '■ 
of  it,  69.      Affections  i[ow  by   continuity 
into     the    understanding,    and    produce  ' 
thoughts,  69.    Man  is  led  by  the  Lord  by 
means  of  his  affections   rather  than  his  ! 
thoughts,  69.     The  affections  do  not  show 
themselves  before  man,  but  the  thoughts  i 
do,  69     Affections  produce  thoughts,  but 
thoughts    do  not  produce  affections',  69.  | 
Evil  affections  of  the  will  are  all  derived 
from  the  love  of  self  and  the  love  of  the 
world,  f  9.      Affections  have  reference  to 
uses,  101. 

Ancient  Pkople  (The  most)  worshipped 
God  as  visible  under  a  human  form,  21. 
6>6«.— The  most  ancient  people  were  the 
men   of  the  Church  which  existed  be- 
fore the  epoch  described  in  the  Word 
by  the  Deluge,  and  the  ancient  people 
were  the  men  of  the  Church  which, 
after  the  Deluge,  succeeded  the  most 
ancient  church,  called  by  the  Author, 
The  Ancient  Church.       I  his   ancient 
church,  which  existed  before  the  Is- 
raelitish  Church,  was  spread  over  a 
greit  part  of  the  globe. 
Angel  (Kvery)  is  a  man,  having  a  soul, 
a  body,  and  an  operating  principle,  18. 


This  trine  is  one ;  the  esse  of  an  angel  is  that 
which  is  called  his  soul,  the  existere  is  that 
which  is  called  his  body,  and  the  procedere 
from  both  is  that  which  is  called  his  sphere 
of  life,  without  which  an  angel  has  neither 
existence  nor  being,  17.     Hy  means  of  this 
threefold  principle  an  angel  is  an  image 
of  God,  17.     An   angel  is  not  life  in  him- 
self, he  is  a  recipient  of  life,  13.     An  angel 
is  not  an  angel  from  anything  of  his  o\vn, 
but  from  the  Divine   principle    which  he 
receives  from  the  Lord,  20.    All  the  angels 
;  of  the  three  heavens   think  of  God  as  of 
man,  20.      Wisdom  of  the  angels  of   the 
third  heaven  ;    its  first  degree,  33.      No 
angel  can  resist  evils  in  the  case  of  man 
j  but  the  Lord  ahuie,  62.  ' 

An(5EL.     Every  man  belonging   to   the 
Church  is  also  an  angel  of  heaven,  for  he 
becomes  an  angel  after  death,  lOS. 
Animals  (Concerning  the  life  of),  85-91. 
'  See  BeasU.     Instinct  of  Animals,  86,  87. 
Concerning  the  animals  which  appear  in 
'  the  spiritual  world,  88.     They  are  the  ap- 
pearances of  affections,  S9.     There  are  as 
!  many  genera  and  species  of  animals  in  ex- 
istence, as  there  are  genera  and  species  of 
affections,  88.     In  the  societies  of  heaven 
appear  the  gentle  and  clean  animal;?,  in  the 
societies  of  hell,  the  savage  and  unclean 
beasts,  and  in  the  world  of  spirits,  beasts 
of  an  intermediate  kind,  89.     Compound 
animals  seen  in  the  world  of  spirits,  89 
Animus,  61,  66,  76,  101. 
Ohn. — The  Animus  is  a  sort  of  external 
mind  formed  from  the  external  affec- 
tions and  inclinations,  which  are  chiefly 
the  result  of  education,  societv,    and 
custom.    See  C.  L.,    246.     8ee  also 
Mind,  oba. 
Apollo,  22. 

AppKARANf  Es  in  the  spiritual  world,  83, 
and  following. 

Obs.— Those  things  which,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  present  themselves  to  the  sight 
of  spirits  and  angels,  are  called  ap- 
pearances, because,  corresponding  to 
the  interiors  of  spirits  and  angels, 
and  representing  them,  they  vary  ao- 


190 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


ALPHABETICAL   AND  .  ANALYTICAL    INDEX.        191 


cording  to  tlie  states  of  these  interiors. 
There   are  real  and  unreal  appear- 
ances; the  latter  are  those  which  do 
not  correspond  to  the    interiors.    H. 
and  /T,  175. 
Arcanum  concerning  man's  faith  and 
love  in  this  world,  an<l  afterwards  in  tliat, 
into  which  he  comes  after  death,  2. 

Architectural  Art  (The)  in  heaven  is 
Art  herself,  there  realizing  her  own  skill,  82. 
Arians.  Unless  men  had  accepted  a 
trinity  of  persons,  they  would  at  that 
time  have  hecome  Arians  or  Sociniana, 
and  the  C'hristian  Church  would  have 
perished,  16.  None  but  Arian  spirits  speak 
with  Arians,  74.  See  SpiriU. 

Arran(;kmknt  of  the  affections  in  the 
heavens  and  in  the  hells,  o4. 

AftSES  (The)  which  appear  in  the  world 
of  spirits,  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there. 

Ohs.—\w  the   Word,   asses  signify  the 
scientific  principle  in  particular,  A.  (7., 
27SI. 
Astoroth,  82. 

Athanasius.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
which  was  confirmed  by  the  Council  of 
Nice,  was  drawn  up  by  Athanasius,  10. 
When  read,  it  leaves  a  clear  idea  that 
there  are  three  unanimous  Gods,  but  an 
obacure  idea  that  God  is  one,  10. 

Baal,  22. 

Babel,  in  the  Word,  represents  those 
who  have  set  their  throne  in  the  heavens 
above  the  Lord,  by  arrogating  to  them- 
selves all  His  power,  79. 

Baptism  is  a  symbol  of  the  Church  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  attestation  that  those 
who  believe  and  live  according  to  His  com- 
mandments in  the  Word  are  saved.  73. 

BASir.isKS  were  not  created  from  the 
beginning,  but  originated  with  hell.  See  90. 

6>6«.— Basili.«*ks  represent  those  who  are 
in  falses  from  evil,  A  JR.,  601. 

Bears  (The)  which  appear  in  the  world 
of  spirits  are  representations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits,  89. 

(?^«.— Bears,  in  the  Word,  represent 
those  wbo  only  read  the  Word,  and 
derive  thence  nothing  of  doctrine,  C. 
Z.,  78. 

Bkasps.  No  one  can  understand  the 
nature  of  the  life  of  beasts,  unless  he  is  also 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  their  souls, 
88.  The  soul  of  beasts  consists  of  nothing 
but  affection,  8S.  The  soul  of  b  -asts  rejrard- 
ed  in  itself  is  spiritual,  not  however  in  the 
degree  in  which  the  souls  of  men  are  so, 
but  in  an  inferior  degree,  90.  There  is  not 
a  hair  or  thread  of  wool  on  any  beast,  that 
is  not  formed  from  the  Hfe  of  their  soul, 
and  thus  that  is  not  derived  from  the  spi- 
ritual clothed  with  the  natural,  88.  Beasts 
and  wild  beasts,  the  souls  of  which  are  evil 
affections,  were  not  created  from  the  begin- 
ning, but  originated  with  hell,  90.    The 


difference  between  men  and  beasts,  91. 
Why  a  beast  can  only  utter  sounds,  vary- 
ing the  expresision  of  its  affections  accord- 
ing to  its  appetites,  91.  Why  a  beast 
does  not  live  after  death,  91.  Concerning 
beasts  in  the  spiritual  world,  they  differ 
from  beasts  in  tlie  natural  world  in  this, 
that  they  are  only  appearances  of  the  af- 
fections of  angels  and  spirits,  83.  See  An- 
imals. 

BEEI.ZEBCB.  22. 

Bees  Wonderful  things  relating  to 
bees,  87. 

Bei.sg  (The  First),  who  is  underived  be- 
ing in  himself,  and  the  source  from  whom 
all  thin<,'s  were  created,  is  God,  who  from 
underived  being  in  Himself,  is  called  Je- 
hovah, 29. 

Belief  (Erroneous)  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics, 3.  Belief  alone,  or  a  belief  merely  of 
the  thought,  without  actual  belief,  which  is 
deed,  is  a  nonentity,  S. 

Bklieve(To).  If  that  which  is  not  in- 
telligible is  to  be  believed,  man  might  have 
been  taught  like  a  parrot  to  say  and  to 
remember  the  most  absurd  things,  9.  Be- 
lief or  faith  belongs  to  thought  and  ac- 
knowledgment, and  hence  to  speech,  and 
not  to  speech  separate  from  thought  and 
acknowledgment,  14. 

Bii;d8.  Their  instincts,  87.  No  one  can 
understand  the  nature  and  quality  of  the 
life  of  birds,  unless  he  is  also  acquainted 
with  the  nature  and  quality  of  their  soul, 
88.  There  is  not  the  filament  of  a  quill  or 
feather  upon  any  bird,  that  is  not  formed 
from  the  life  of  their  soul,  8S. 

Obs.—Hirds,  in  the  Word,  represent  in- 
telligence, and  also  the  thoughts,  A,C., 
5149.  ' 

Birds  of  Paraoise  (The)  which  appear 
in  heaven,  are  manifestations  of  the  per- 
ceptions of  angels,  69     See  O.  L.,  270. 

Blessedness  (All)  in  heaven  is  derived 

from  uses  and  tlie  love  of  them,  84.  See  Cse^. 

Blindness  (The)  of  those  who  confirm 

themselves  against  divine  providence,  or 

who  deny  it,  arises  from  ignorance,  70 

Bones  (The),  with  the  skins  and  cartila- 
ges, constitute  the  ultimate  degree  of  life, 
28.  Bones  are  in  the  number  of  the  ulti- 
mates  which  are  produced  from  the  spirit- 
ual principle,  the  life  which  is  from  the  soul 
terminating  in  them,  100. 

Botany,  Ciiemlstrv,  &c.  Those  who  are 
skilled  in  botany,  chemistry,  medicine,  or 
pharmacy,  come  after  death  into  the  know- 
ledge of  the  spiritual  uses  derived  from  the 
vegetables  in  the  spiritual  world,  101. 

Bride  and  Wife.  In  the  Word  the  Lord 
is  called  the  bridegroom  and  husband,  and 
heaven  and  the  Church  are  called  the  bride 
and  wife,  8 

Bridegroom.      In  the  Word  the  Lord  is 
called  the  bridegroom,  and  heaven  and  th» 
Church  are  callel  the  bride,  8. 
Bulls.    The  bulls  which  appear  in  the 


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Spiritual  world  are  manifestations  of  the 

affections  of  spirits  there,  89. 

Ob8—\  bull  in  the  Word  signifies  the 
external  good  of  innocence.    A.   C 
10,132.  •  ' 


Camels  (The)  which  appear  in  the  spirit- 
ual world  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

<?6«— The  camel,  in  the  Word,  signifies 
the  scientific  principle  in  general,  A. 
(?.,  2781 

Cartilages  (The),  with  the  bones  and 
the  skins,  constitute  the  ultimate  degree  of 
life,  28.  The  cartilages  are  among  the  ul- 
timates  which  the  t=piritual  principle  pro- 
duces in  the  human  body,  and  in  them  is 
terminated  the  life  which  is  from  the  soul 
100.  ' 

Caterpillars.  The  change  which  takes 
place  in  cater|>illars  is  a  representative  type 
of  man's  re-birth,  and  of  his  re-urroction  87 

Catholic  Faith  (The),  what  it  is,  1.  ' 

Catholics  (Roman),  Their  erroneous  be- 
lief, 2 

Cause  is  a  living  force  which  is  spiri- 
tual, while  the  effect  derived  from  it  is  a 
dead  force  because  it  is  natural,  9rx  The 
efticient  cause  is  with  the  effect  in  all  its 
collective  and  several  parts,  86.  The 
means  or  causes  are  also  called  the  inter- 
mediate ends,  because  the  principal  end, 
which  is  everything  in  them,  produces 
.  them,  77.  These  causes  or  intermediate 
ends  are  subordinate  loves,  and  the  princi- 
pal end  is  man's  will's  love,  77.  In  man, 
the  principal  cause,  which  is  life,  and  the 
instrumental  cause,  which  is  the  recipient 
of  life,  act  together  as  (me  cause,  26.    See 

Chalk-like  Substances.  Their  vegeta- 
tion, 96. 

Changes  of  State.  By  state  in  man  is 
meant  his  love  ;  and  by  changes  of  state 
the  affections  of  love,  43. 

Chemosii,  23. 

Cherubim  (The)  above  the  mercy-seat, 
are  the  Word  and  that  which  proceeds  from 
it,  and  in  the  Word  the  Lord  talks  with 
man  as  he  did  with  Moses  and  Aaron  be- 
tween the  cherubim,  72. 

Christians.  Whence  have  arisen  cer- 
tain false  ideas  which  Chrbtians  have  en- 
tertained concerning  God,  19. 

Church  (The)  of  the  lord  extends 
throughout  the  whole  worM,  71.  The  an- 
cient Church  was,  like  the  Church  in  our 
day,  divided  into  a  number  of  sects,  71. 
Men,  in  proportion  as  they  are  recipients 
of  the  divine  truth  and  the  divine  good,  are 
the  Church  generally,  as  well  as  the  Church 
individually,  111.  There  is  not  belonging 
to  any  man  anything  which  forms  the 
church  in  him,  except  the  divine  proceed- 
ing from  the  Lord,  111.     See  Aruuent,  ohs. 

Oba.—ThQ  church  of  the  Lord  is  univer- 
sal, and  is  with  all  who  acknowledge 


a  divme  being,  and  live  in  charitv, 
whatever  may  be  their  doctrinal  ten- 
ets ;  but  the  Church  is  more  especially 
where  the  Word  is,  and  where,  by 
means  of  the  Word,  the  Lord  is  known. 
In  those  countries  where  the  Word 
does  not  exi^t,  or  where  the  Word  is 
withheld  from  the  people,  and  replaced 
by  human  decisions,  as  among  ihe  Ro- 
man Catholics,  there  is  a  religion  ;  but, 
to  ^peak  correctly,  there  is  no  Church. 
Among  Protestants  there  is- a  Church, 
but  the  church  with  them  is  at  its  end, 
because  they  have  perverted  the  Word. 
Cloihing  signifies  everything  external 
which  clothes  the  soul,  83. 

Compel  (To^.  No  man  can  be  compel- 
led to  love  and  believe,  54.  For  man  to 
compel  himself  is  to  act  from  freedom,  37, 
48.  All  compulsion  by  another  takes  away 
freedom,  37,  48.  To  compel  himself  is  to 
resist  evil  and  to  fight  against  it  as  if  from 
himself,  but  still  to  implore  the  Lord  for 
aid  to  do  so,  49.  For  a  man  to  compel  him- 
self is  to  compel  himself  fron^  evil,  but  nut 
to  compel  himself  to  good ;  the  reason 
why,  50.  Man  is  compelled  by  miracles 
and  visions,  and  also  by  fears  and  punish- 
ments, 53.  No  man  can  be  compelled  to 
love  and  believe,  54. 

Comprehend.  Why  man  can  with  diffi- 
culty  comprehend  the  divine  omnipresence 
and  omniscience,  106. 

Conjunction  (The)  of  God  with  man  and 
of  man  with  God,  is  taught  in  the  two  ta- 
bles of  the  decalogue,  72 ;  it  is  effected  by 
a  life  in  accordance  with  the  precepts  of 
the  decalogue,  72.  God  conjoins  himself 
to  man  by  means  of  the  good  of  love,  and 
man  conjoins  himself  to  God  by  means  of 
the  truth  of  faith,  72.  Man  is  in  conjunc- 
tion with  heaven  whilst  he  lives  in  the 
world,  although  he  is  ignorant  of  it,  3. 
Man  is  of  a  quality  altogether  similar  to 
liis  conjunction  with  the  .-ocieties  of  the 
spiritual  world,  2. 

Consociation  (Man  is  in)  with  angels 
whilst  he  lives  in  the  world,  although  both 
men  and  angels  are  ignorant  of  it,  3. 

Conversing  with  Spiuits.  By  convers- 
ing with  spirits,  and  the  operation  of  the 
spirits  upon  inan  being  openly  felt,  the 
worship  of  God  was  anciently  converted 
into  the  worship  of  demons,  and  the  Church 
perished,  74. 

Correspondence.  All  things  of  the 
body  have  a  correspondence  with  the  so- 
cieties of  heaven,  86.  There  is  a  corre- 
spondence not  only  of  animals,  but  also  of 
vegetables,  with  the  societies  of  heaven, 
and  also  of  hell,  100.  The  thought  of  man 
and  the  thought  of  an  angel  make  one 
only  by  correspondences,  3.  The  union 
of  the  thought  of  man  with  the  thought  of 
an  angel  or  spirit  by  correspondences 
prevents  men  and  spirits  from  knowing 
anything  of  each  other,  74. 


t^w.'tZ^fJvr  043,    a^Lj^cCf^^r^      in^    ^l^U^-^i^rv    V^Tv;-:^^^^^*^  Lt^i?N.^C^>   |a.<^^ 


192 


THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


ALPHABETICAL   AND   ANALYTICAL  INDEX.         193 


CoiTxriL  of  Nice,  10. 
Country  (  The  native)  of  man  la  In  the 
spiritual  world,  for  he  is  to  live  there  to 
eternity  after  he  has  lived  a  few  years  in 
the  natural  world,  4. 

Created  (lo  be)  is  to  exist  from  an- 
other, 29. 

Creation.      The   end  of  creation  was, 
that  out  of   the  human  race    might    be 
formed  heaven,  86.     The  work  of  creation 
is  perfected  in  ultimates,  95.     The  Lord's 
omniprese'nce  and  omniscience  may  be  un- 
derstood also   from  the   creation   of   the 
universe,  for  it  was  so  created  by  Him  that 
He  is  in  first  principles  and  in  ultimates, 
in  the  centre  and  at  the  same  time  in  the 
circumferences,    and    that    all    things  in 
which  lie  is  are  uses,  104. 
Creation  (The  first),  25,  34. 
Obs. — By  the  first  creation  the  Author 
does  not  mean  that  there  was  a  first 
and  second  creation,  but  as  preserva- 
tion is  perpetual  creation,  and  as  in 
preserving  God   continually   creates, 
this  expression  points  out  more  parti- 
cularly the  creation  of  the  universe. 
Creed    (Athanasian),    1.     Its    doctrine 
examined,  10-16. 

Crocodiles  were  not  created  from  the 
beginning,  but  originated  with  hell,  9l). 
Obs.     Crocodiles    represent  those  who 

are  in  falses  from  evil,  A.  li.,  601. 
Crows  ^  The)  which  appear  in  hell  are 
manifestations  of  the  cupidities  and  falses 
of  infernal  spirits,  89. 

Obs.— Crows  in  the  Word  signify  gross 
falsities,  A.  C,  S66. 

Danger  (There  is  no)  in  departing  from 
evil  to  good,  but  the  danger  is  in  depart- 
ing from  good  to  evil,  55.  The  danger  to 
which  a  man  is  exposed  who  speaks  with 
spirits,  74. 

Death.  What  proceeds  from  the  sun  of 
the  natural  world  is  dead,  95. 

Degueks  of  Life.  We  can  have  no  idea 
of  tht»  life  which  Is  God,  unless  we  obtain 
an  idea  of  the  degrees  through  which  life 
descends,  28.  There  is  an  inmost  degree 
of  life,  and  there  is  an  ultimate  degree  of 
life,  and  there  are  intermediate  degrees  of 
it,  2S.  The  dbtinction  between  them  is 
like  that  between  things  prior  and  posteri- 
or, for  a  posterior  degree  exists  from  a 
prior,  and  so  forth,  2S.  90,  98.  Every  man 
has  three  desrrees  of  life— the  lowest  is 
common  to  him  with  the  beasts,  but  the 
two  hiicher  are  not  so,  110. 

Devil  (I4y  the  term)  is  meant  in  the 
Word  the  hell  inhabited  by  devils,  41. 
The  devils  are  those  in  whom  the  love  of 
self  has  predomiaated,  41.     See  Satan. 

Diana,  22. 

DiFFERiiNCE  between  men-angels  and 
men-devils,  44. 

DiFFKRKNMJE  (The)  between  men  and 
beasts,  91;  between  nature  and  life,  95; 


between  vegetables  in  the  spiritual  and  in 
the  natural  world,  99,  100 ;  between  the 
earth  in  the  spiritual  and  in  the  natural 
world,  99  ;  between  the  productions  of  our 
earth,  and  those  of  the  earth  in  the  hea- 
vens, 99. 

DisAr.REKMENT  between  the  understand- 
ing and  the  will,  in  what  it  consists  and 
why  it  exists,  65. 

Divine  E!<3K(rhe)  cannot  be  seen  ex- 
cept through  the  divine  existere,  which  is 
the  divine  human  principle,  21. 

Divine  IIit-man  (The)  is  a  human  prin- 
ciple from  the  Father  which  the  Lord  put 
on  when  he  put  oflF  the  hum  in  principle 
which  He  had  from  the  mother  whilst  in 
the  world,  15.  Difference  between  the  di- 
vine human  before  the  Lord  came  into  the 
world,  and  after  He  had  left  the  world,  18. 
Divine  Principle  (The).  One  divine 
principle  by  itself  is  not  given,  but  there 
will  be  a  threefold  princi;)le,  17.  The  di- 
vine principle  is  called  the  Father,  the 
divine  human  is  called  the  Son,  and  the 
divine  proceeding  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
18.  The  divine  principle,  which  is  called 
the  Father,  is  the  divine  esse;  the  divine  hu- 
man, which  is  called  the  Son,  is  the  divine 
existere  from  that  esse;  and  the  divine 
principle,  which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  the  divine  proceeding  from  the  divine 
existere  and  the  divine  esse,  17.  Divine 
things  taken  together  are  God,  7. 
Divine  truths  are  laws  of  order,  31. 
DocruiNE  OK  THE  Trinitv  (Examina- 
tion of  the)  which  was  drawn  up  by  Atha- 
nasius,  conflnned  by  the  Coun.il  of  Nice, 
and  received  throughout  Christendom,  2. 
10,16.  ' 

Doos  (Instinct  of),  87.  The  dogs  which 
appear  in  hell,  are  manifestations  of  the 
lusts  of  infernal  spirits.  89. 

Obs. — Dogs  signify  in  general  those  who 
are  in  concupiscences  of   all  kinds, 
and  who  give  themselves  up  thereto, 
and  especially  those  who  are  in  cor- 
poreal   pleasures,   more  particularly 
those  who  are  addicted  to  the   plea- 
sures of  the  table,  A.  R  ,  952. 
Doves  (The)  which  appear  in  heaven  are 
manifestations  of  the  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions of  the  amjels,  89. 

ObH.—\)ov^9,  in  the  Word,  signify  the 
goods  and  truths  of  faith,  A.  C,  1826. 

Eagles  (The)  which  are  seen  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits,  89. 

Obs— In  the  Word,  eagles  signify  man's 
rational  principle,  A.  C,  3901. 

Ear  (The).  Sound  is  the  principal 
cause  of  hearing,  and  the  ear  is  the  in- 
strumental cause  of  it,  26.  The  ear  per- 
ceives sounds,  whether  they  are  words  or 
tones  of  music,  from  the  place  whence 
they  proceed,  as  if  it  were  there,  though 
the  sounds  enter  in  from  without,  and  are 


perceived  in  the  ear  by  the  understanding 
Within,  45. 

Eakth.  There  is  earth  in  the  heavens, 
as  in  the  world  of  nature,  though  its  pro- 
ductions are  not  from  seed  sown,  but  from 
created  seed,  99. 

Effi^ct.  All  the  several  and  most 
minute  objects  belonging  to  nature  are 
effects  produced  from  a  cause,  which  is 
prior,  interior,  and  superior  to  it,  and  pro- 
ceeding immediately  from  God,  94.  The 
effect  is  called  the  ultimate  end,  because 
the  principal  end  produces  it  by  interme- 
diate ends,  and  is  everything  in  them,  77. 
(See  Ends.)  The  effect,  or  ultimate  end, 
is  the  use  foreseen,  provided,  and  produced 
by  the  will's  love,  through  the  understand- 
ing, 77.  If  the  cause  is  separated  from 
the  effect,  the  effect  perishes,  85.  N othing 
exists  from  the  effect  that  is  not  in  the 
cause,  95.  Where  the  cause  of  an  effect 
is,  there  also  is  to  be  found  the  cause  of  an 
efficient  effect;  for  every  effect  becomes 
an  efficient  cause  in  successive  order, 
until  it  reaches  the  ultimate,  where  the 
effective  force  stops,  94.     See  Cause. 

Effort  is  derived  from  a  spiritual 
principle,  94.  This  conatus  or  effort  is  in 
first  principles  and  in  last,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  thence  in  the  natural,  96. 

Eggs.  Tariicular  signs  observable  in 
eggs,  hi. 

Elephants  (The)  which  appear  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits  there,  b9. 

Eminen(^e  and  opulence  specially  belong 
to  the  natural  man,  76.  When  eminence 
and  opulence  do  not  lead  astray,  they  pro- 
ceed from  God;  but  when  they  do  so,  they 
are  derived  from  hell,  76.  Eminence  and 
opulence  may  be  blessin:rs,  and  they  may 
also  be  curses,  77.  If  eminence  and  opu- 
lence are  ends,  they  are  curses  ;  but  if 
they  are  means,  they  are  blessings,  76. 
In  heaven  eminence  originates  in  wisdom, 
81.  The  eminence  and  opulence  of  the 
angels  of  heaven  described,  82. 

Ends  (The),  the  means,  or  causes,  and 
the   effect,   are  also   called  the  principal 
end,  the  intermediate  ends,  and  the  ulti- 
mate end,  77.     The  principal  end  is  man's 
will's  love,  the  intermediate  ends  are  sub- 
ordinate loves,  and  the  ultimate  end  is  the 
will's  love,  existing,  as  it  were,  in  its  own 
effigy,  77.     '1  he  ultimate  end,  to  which  the 
principal    end    progresses    through    the 
means,  is  the  existing  end,  and  this  end 
is  use,   78.      The  end  loves   the  means, 
when  it  performs  this  use;    and  if  they 
do  not  perform  it,  it  does  not  love  them. 
78.  ' 

Obs.— The  End  is  the  object  proposed, 
and  the  Means  are  the  things  which 
.  are  used  to  obtain  this  object. 
Enlightened  (To  be).     Those  who  love 
and  will  truths  from   the   Lord,   are  en- 
lightened when  they  read  the  Word,  for 


8 


the  Lord  is  present  in  it,  and  speaks  with 
every  one  according  to  his  capacity,  75. 
Men  are  enlightened  in  various  degiees 
each  according  to  the  quality  of  hid  affec- 
tion, and  his  intelligence  derived  from  it, 
<5.  The  light  of  h.-aven  is  the  spiritual 
principle  which  enlight-ns  the  natural 
mail,  76.  To  be  enlightened  through 
heaven  by  the  Lord,  is  to  be  enlightened 
through  the  Holy  Spirit,  71. 

Enlightenment.  The  nature  of  en- 
lightenment, 71.  It  is  effected  by  the 
Lord  through  the  Word,  71.  Those  who 
are  in  the  spiritual  affection  of  truth  are 
elevated  into  the  light  of  heaven  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  perceive  the  enlighten- 
ment, 75.  Enlightenment  by  means  of  tho 
forms  of  religion  is  not  like  that  derived 
from  the  Word,  71. 

Enthltsiasts.  None  but  enthusiastic 
spirits  speak  with  enthusiasts,  74.  See 
tSpirits. 

Equilibrium.  Two  forces,  whilst  they 
are  at  rest,  produce  an  equilibrium,  45. 
Nothing  can  be  acted  ui)on  or  moved, 
unless  it  is  in  equilibiium  ;  and  when  it  is 
acted  upon,  it  is  out  of  the  equihbrium, 
45.  Everything  acted  upon  or  moved 
seeks  to  return  to  an  equilibrium,  45. 

Esse  (The)  must  necessarily  exist,  and 
when  it  exists,  it  must  j)roceed  that  it  may 
produce,  17.  The  esse  of  an  angel  is  that 
which  is  called  his  soul,  the  existere  is 
that  which  is  called  his  bodv,  and  the 
procedere  from  both  is  that  which  is  called 
the  sphere  of  his  life,  17.  Esse  and  exist- 
ere in  God  are  one,  29.  The  esse  is  in  its 
existence  as  the  soul  is  in  its  body,  21. 
EsshNCK  (The)  of  uses  is  the  public  good. 

Essence  (The  Divine)  is  not  God,  but 
yet  belongs  to  God,  11.     The  essence  of 
God  is,  that  He  is  love  itself,  and  wisdom 
itself— thus  life  itself,  27. 
Ethers  are  natural  forces,  96. 
Evil.     Evil  is  imputed  to  man  because 
he  is  in  freedom,  and  has  the  faculty  of 
acting  as  if  from  himself,  47.     It  is  beUer 
that  a  man  should  be  constantly  evil,  than 
that  he  should  be  good  and  afterwards 
evil,  56.     If  man  does  not  compel  himself 
to  resist  evils,  he  continues  in  them,  40. 
The  lot  of  those  in  the  other  life  who  are 
constantly  evil,  56. 

Evil  (Every;  is  conjoined  with  innume- 
rable evils,  62.  Evils  and  hell  are  one,  64. 
Exist  (To).  All  things  which  appear  in 
the  spiritual  world  exist  immediately  from 
the  sun  of  heaven  ;  whereas  all  things 
which  appear  in  the  natural  world  exist 
from  the  same  source,  but  by  means  of 
the  sun  of  this  world,  105. 

Exploration.  How  the  exploration  of 
each  is  effected  when  he  comes  into  the 
spiritual  world,  3. 

Extended  (To  be).  Everything  ex- 
tended belongs  to  matter,  33. 


192 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


ALPHABETICAL   AXD   ANALYTICAL   INDEX.         193 


Council  of  Nice,  10. 
Country  (  The  native)  of  man  is  In  the 
spiritual  world,  for  he  is  to  live  there  to 
eternity  after  he  has  lived  a  few  years  in 
tlie  natural  world,  4. 

CitKATED  (lo  be)  is  to  exist  from  an- 
other, 29. 

Ckkation.      The   end  of  creation  was, 
that  out  of   the  human   race    might    be 
formed  heaven,  86.     The  work  of  creation 
is  perfected  in  ultimates,  95.     The  Lord's 
omniprese'nce  and  omniscience  may  be  un- 
derstood  also   from  the   creation  of   the 
universe,  for  it  was  so  created  by  Him  tliat 
He  is  in  first  principles  and  in  ultimates, 
in  the  centre  and  at  the  same  time  in  the 
circumferences,    and    that    all    things  in 
which  lie  is  are  uses,  104. 
Creation  (The  first),  25,  34. 
Obs.—liy  the  first  creation  the  Author 
does  not  mean  that  there  was  a  first 
and  second  creation,  but  as  preserva- 
tion is  perpetual  creation,  and  as  in 
preserving  God   continually   creates, 
this  expression  points  out  more  parti- 
cularly the  creation  of  the  universe. 
Crekd    (Athanasian),    1.     Its    doctrine 
examined,  10-16. 

Cro€(»uiles  were  not  created  from  the 
beginning,  but  originated  with  hell,  90. 
Obs.     Crocodiles    represent  those  who 

are  in  falses  from  evil,  J.  /?.,  601. 
Ckovvs  (  The)  which  appear  in  hell  are 
manifestations  of  the  cupidities  and  falses 
of  infernal  spirits,  69. 

Obn.—Crowa  in  the  Word  signify  gross 
falsities,  A.  C,  866. 

Danokr  (There  is  no)  in  departing  from 
evil  to  good,  but  the  danger  is  in  depart- 
ing from  good  to  evil,  55.  The  danger  to 
which  a  man  is  exposed  who  speaks  with 
spirits,  74. 

Death.  What  proceeds  from  the  sun  of 
the  natural  world  is  dead,  95. 

Degkeks  of  Life.  We  can  have  no  idea 
of  the  life  which  is  God,  unless  we  obtain 
an  idea  of  the  degrees  through  which  life 
descends,  28.  There  is  an  inmost  degree 
of  life,  and  there  is  an  ultimate  degree  of 
life,  and  there  are  intermediate  degrees  of 
it,  2S.  The  distinction  between  them  is 
like  that  between  things  prior  and  posteri- 
or, for  a  posterior  degree  exists  from  a 
prior,  and  so  forth,  2S.  90,  9S.  Every  man 
has  three  degrees  of  life— the  lowest  is 
common  to  him  with  the  bea.sts,  but  the 
two  hivjher  are  not  so,  110. 

Devii.  (liy  the  term)  is  meant  in  the 
Word  the  hell  inhabited  by  devils,  41. 
The  devils  are  those  in  whom  the  love  of 
self  has  predominated,  41.     See  Satan. 

Diana,  22. 

Difference  between  men-angels  and 
men-devils,  44. 

DiFFERK.vcE  (The)  between  men  and 
beasts,  91 ;  between  nature  and  life,  95 ; 


between  vegetables  in  the  spiritual  and  in 
the  natural  world,  99,  100;  between  the 
earth  in  the  spiritual  and  in  the  natural 
world,  99  ;  between  the  productions  of  our 
earth,  and  those  of  the  earth  in  the  hea- 
vens, 99. 

Disacjrekment  between  the  understand- 
ing and  the  will,  in  what  it  consists  and 
why  it  exists,  65. 

Divine  Es3K(rhe)  cannot  be  seen  ex- 
cept through  the  divine  existere,  which  is 
the  divine  human  principle,  21. 

Divi.ne  Human  (The)  is  a  human  prin- 
ciple from  the  Father  which  the  Lord  put 
on  when  he  put  oflF  the  humm  principle 
which  He  had  from  the  mother  whilst  in 
the  world,  15.  Difference  between  the  di- 
vine human  before  the  Lord  came  into  the 
world,  and  after  He  had  left  the  world,  18. 

Divine  Principle  (The).  One  divine 
principle  by  itself  is  not  given,  but  there 
will  be  a  threefold  princi;.le,  17.  The  di- 
vine principle  is  called  the  Father,  the 
divine  human  is  called  the  Son,  and  the 
divine  proceeding  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
\-i.  The  divine  principle,  which  is  called 
the  Father,  is  the  divine  esse;  the  divine  hu- 
man, which  is  called  the  Son,  is  the  divine 
existere  from  that  esse ;  and  the  divine 
principle,  which  Ls  called  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  the  divine  proceeding  from  the  divine 
existere  and  the  divine  esse,  17.  Divine 
things  taken  together  are  God,  7. 

Divine  truths  are  laws  of  order,  31. 

DocruiNE  OF  TUK  Trinity  (Examina- 
tion of  the)  which  was  drawn  up  by  Atha- 
nasius,  conflnned  by  the  Coun.il  of  Nice, 
and  received  throughout  Christendom,  2. 
10,  16.  ' 

Doos  (Instinct  of),  87.  The  dogs  which 
appear  in  hell,  are  manifestations  of  the 
lusts  of  infernal  spirits,  89. 

Obs. — Dogs  signify  in  general  those  who 
are  in  concupiscences  of  all  kinds, 
and  who  give  themselves  up  thereto, 
and  especially  those  who  are  in  cor- 
poreal pleasures,  more  particularly 
those  who  are  addicted  to  the  plea- 
sures of  the  table,  A.  R  ,  952. 

Doves  (The)  which  appear  in  heaven  are 
manifestations  of  the  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions of  the  angels,  69. 

t>^/^.— Doves,  in  the  Word,  signify  the 
goods  and  truths  of  faith,  A.  C'.,  1826. 

Eagles  (The)  which  are  seen  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits,  89. 

Oba—ln  the  Word,  eagles  signify  man's 
rational  principle,  A.  C,  3901. 

Ear  (The).  Sound  is  the  principal 
cause  of  hearing,  and  the  ear  is  the  in- 
strumental cause  of  it,  26.  The  ear  per- 
ceives sounds,  whether  they  are  words  or 
tones  of  music,  from  the  place  whence 
they  proceed,  as  if  it  were  there,  though 
the  sounds  enter  in  from  without,  and  are 


perceived  in  the  ear  by  the  understanding 
within,  45. 

Eakth.  There  is  earth  in  the  heavens, 
as  in  the  world  of  nature,  though  its  pro- 
ductions are  not  from  seed  sown,  but  from 
created  seed,  99. 

Kffixt.      All    the    several   and    most 
minute  objects  belonging   to  nature  are 
effects  produced  from  a  cause,  which  is 
prior,  interior,  and  superior  to  it,  and  pro- 
ceeding immediately  from  God,  94.     I'he 
effect  IS  called  the  ultimate  end,  because 
the  principal  end  produces  it  by  interme- 
diate ends,  and  is  everything  in  them,  77 
(See  £;nd.s.)    The  effect,  or  ultimate  end,' 
is  the  use  foreseen,  provided,  and  produced 
by  the  wilPs  love,  through  the  understand- 
ing, 77.    If  the  cause  is  separated  from 
the  effect,  the  effect  perishes,  85.     ^  othing 
exists  from  the  effect  that  is  not   in   the 
cause,  95.     Where  the  cause  of  an  effect 
is,  there  also  is  to  be  found  the  cause  of  an 
efficient  effect;  for  every  effect  becomes 
an  etHcient    cause    in    successive    order 
until   it   reaches  the  ultimate,  where  the 
effective  force  stops,  94.     See  C'a  use. 

Effort  is  derived  from  a  spiritual 
prindple,  94.  This  conatus  or  effort  is  in 
first  principles  and  in  last,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  thence  in  the  natural,  96. 

Eggs.  Tarticular  signs  observable  in 
eggs,  b7. 

Elephants  (The)  which  appear  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits  there,  y9. 

Eminence  and  opulence  specially  belong 
to  the  natural  man,  76.  When  eminence 
and  opulence  do  not  lead  astray,  they  pro- 
ceed from  God;  but  when  they  do  so,  they 
are  derived  from  hell,  76.  Eminence  and 
opulence  may  be  blessinirs,  and  they  may 
also  be  curees,  77.  If  eminence  and  opu- 
lence are  ends,  they  are  curses;  but  if 
they  are  means,  they  are  blessings,  76. 
In  heaven  eminence  originates  in  wisdom, 
81.  The  eminence  and  opulence  of  the 
angels  of  heaven  described,  82. 

Ends  (The),  the  means,  or  causes,  and 
the   effect,   are  also  called  the  principal 
end,  the  intermediate  ends,  and  the  ulti- 
mate end,  77.    The  principal  end  is  man's 
will  s  love,  the  intermediate  ends  are  sub- 
ordinate loves,  and  the  ultimate  end  is  the 
will's  love,  existing,  as  it  were,  in  its  own 
efligy,  77.    'I  he  ultimate  end,  to  which  the 
principal    end    progresses    through    the 
means,  is  the  existing  end,  and  tliis  end 
is  use,   78.      The  end  loves  the  means, 
when  it  performs  this  use;    and  if  they 
do  not  perform  it,  it  does  not  love  them, 
«8.  ' 

Obs.— The  End  is  the  object  proposed, 

and  the  Means  are  the  things  which 

are  used  to  obtain  this  object. 

ENLiGnTKN».iD  (To  be).     Those  who  love 

and  will   truths   from   the   Lord,   are  en- 

Ughtened  when  they  read  the  Word,  for 


the  Lord  is  present  in  it,  and  speaks  with 
every  one  according  to  his  capacity,  75. 
Men  are  enlightened  in  various  degrees 
'  each  according  to  the  quality  of  his  affec' 
tion,  and  ns  intelligence  derived  from  it, 
<5.  Ihe  hght  of  h.aven  is  the  spiritual 
principle  wiiich  enlightens  the  natural 
man,  76.  To  be  enlightened  through 
heaven  by  the  Lord,  is  to  be  enlightened 
through  the  Holy  Spirit,  71. 

Enlightenment.  The  nature  of  en- 
lightenment, 71.  It  is  effected  by  the 
Lord  through  the  Word,  71.  Those  who  * 
are  in  the  spiritual  affection  of  truth  are 
elevated  into  the  light  of  heaven  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  perceive  the  enliuhten- 
ment,  75.  Enlightenment  by  means  of  tho 
f.)rms  of  religion  is  not  like  that  derived 
from  the  Word,  71. 

Enthusiasts.  None  but  enthusiastic 
spirits  speak  with  enthusiasts,  74  See 
/Spirits. 

Equilibrium.  Two  forces,  whilst  they 
are  at  rest,  produce  an  eqiiilibrium,  45. 
Nothing  can  be   acted   upon   or  moved 


unless  it  is  in  equilibrium  ;  and  when  it  is 
acted  upon,  it  is  out  of  the  equilibrium, 
45.  Everything  acted  upon  or  moved 
seeks  to  return  to  an  equilibrium,  45. 

Esse  (The)  must  necissarily  exist,  and 
when  it  exists,  it  must  proceed  that  it  may 
produce,  17.  The  esse  of  an  angel  is  that 
which  is  called  his  soul,  the  existere  is 
that  which  is  called  his  bodv,  and  the 
procedere  from  both  is  that  which  Ls  called 
the  sphere  of  his  life,  17.  E.<se  and  exist- 
ere ui  God  are  one,  29.  The  esse  is  in  its 
existence  as  the  soul  is  in  its  body,  21. 

Essence  (The)  of  uses  is  the  public  good. 

Essence  (The  Divine)  is  not  God,  but 
yet  belongs  to  God,  11.     The  essence  of 
God  is,  that  He  is  love  itself,  and  wisdom 
itself--thus  life  itself,  27. 
Ethers  are  natural  forces,  96. 
Evil.     Evil  is  Imputed  to  man  because 
he  is  m  freedom,  and  has  the  faculty  of 
acting  as  if  from  himself,  47.     It  is  better 
that  a  man  should  be  constantly  evil,  than 
that  he  should  be  good  and  afterwards 
evil,  56.     If  man  does  not  compel  himself 
to  resist  evils,  he  continues  in  them,  40. 
The  lot  of  those  in  the  other  life  who' are 
constantly  evil,  56. 

Evil  (Every;  is  conjoined  with  innume- 
rable evils,  62.  Evils  and  hell  are  one  64 
Exist  (To).  All  things  which  appear  in 
the  spiritual  worid  exist  immediately  from 
the  sun  of  heaven  ;  whereas  all  things 
which  appear  in  the  natural  world  exist 
from  the  same  source,  but  by  means  of 
the  sun  of  this  world,  105. 

Exploration.  How  the  exploration  of 
each  is  effected  when  he  comes  into  the 
spiritual  worid,  3. 

Extended  (To  be).  Everything  ex- 
tended belongs  to  matter,  33. 


I 


194 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


EXTKRNAL  (The>  of  the  spirit,  which 
consists  in  thinking  and  will,  must  not  be 
compelled,  53.  The  external  of  the  body 
may  be  compelled,  because  man,  never- 
theless, speaks  and  wills  freely,  53.  The 
externals  must  be  reformed  by  the  inter- 
nals, but  not  the  internals  by  the  exter- 
nals, 4S. 

Eyk  (The)  is  the  instrumental  cause  of 
sight,  and  light  is  the  principal  cause  of 
it,  26.  The  eye  sees  objects  out  of  itself, 
as  if  it  were  in  close  contact  with  them, 
though  it  is  the  rays  of  light  that  convey, 
with  the  wings  of  ether,  the  forms  and 
colors  of  them  to  the  eye  ;  these  forms, 
being  perceived  by  the  internal  sight, 
which  is  called  the  understanding,  and 
examined  in  the  eye,  are  thus  distinguish- 
ed and  known  according  to  their  quality, 45. 

Paccltifs.  There  ai-e  in  man  two  fa- 
cultifs  of  life,  65.  The  one  is  called  the 
understanding,  the  other  the  will,  65. 
They  are  altogether  distinct  from  each 
other,  but  are  created  to  form  one ;  and 
when  they  do  so,  they  are  called  one 
mind,  65. 

Fallacy  (A)  is  the  inversion  of  order; 
it  is  the  judgment  of  the  eve.  rather  than 
of  the  mind ;  the  conclusion  drawn  from 
the  appearance  of  a  thing,  rather  than 
from  its  essence,  102.  It  is  a  fallacy  to 
believe  that  man  lives  from  himself,  26. 

Falsitiks,  46,  68.  73,  91. 

Fear.  It  is  love,  and  not  fear,  which 
causes  good  to  be  good.  50.  There  are 
fears  which  compel  the  externals,  but  not 
the  internals  ;  the  reason  why,  48.  There 
are,  however,  some  fears  which  compel 
the  internals,  or  spirit  of  man,  but  they 
are  those  only  which  enter  by  inllux  from 
the  .spiritual  world,  4S. 

FiiLDS.  Fields  and  plains  appear  in 
heaven,  99. 

FiRK  corresponds  to  love,  and  in  the 
Word  it  signifies  love,  27. 

FisiiKS.  No  one  can  understand  the 
nature  and  quality  of  the  life  which  the 
fishes  of  the  sea  enjoy,  unless  he  is  also 
acquainted  with  the  nature  and  quality  of 
their  soul,  88.  There  is  not  the  apex  of  a 
scale  or  fin  upon  any  fish  that  is  not 
formed  from  the  life  of  tiieir  soul,  and 
thus  that  is  not  derived  from  the  spiritual, 
clothed  with  the  natural,  88. 

Flowkrs.  Lawns  and  beds  of  flowers 
appear  in  heaven,  !'9. 

Food  (By),  in  the  Word,  is  meant  every- 
thing which  nourishes  the  souL,  83. 

FuRCK.  There  is  in  existence  but  one 
acting  force,  and  that  is  the  life,  which  is 
God,  46.  There  is  inherent  in  all  that  is 
spiritual  a  plastic  force,  and  also  a  propa- 
gative  force,  90.  There  are  three  forces 
inherent  in  everything  spiritual  —  the 
active,  the  creative,  and  the  formative, 
97.    The  first  source  of  all  forces,  which  L> 


the  sun  of  heaven,  is  the  divine  love  of  the 
Lord ;  the  living  force,  whicii  is  life,  pro- 
ceeds from  it,  97.  The  forces  inherent  in 
nature  from  its  origin,  which  is  the  sun  of 
the  world,  are  not  living,  but  dead  forces, 
97. 

FoHM  (Humnn).  AVhy  everything  in  the 
heavens  is  either  in  the  human  form,  or 
has  reference  to  it.  23.  Human  forms,  re- 
cipient of  life,  d  )  not  live  from  themselves, 
but  from  God,  who  alone  is  life,  25. 

FoRM.s.  There  are  two  general  forms, 
the  spiritual  and  the  natural ;  Die  spiritual, 
such  as  that  which  belongs  to  annuals  ; 
and  the  natural,  such  as  that  which  be- 
longs to  vegetables,  90.  See  State  and 
Form. 

FoRTUNK.  It  is  better  that  man  should 
ascribe  the  operations  of  the  divine  pro- 
vidence to  prudence  and  fortune,  than 
that  he  should  acknowledge  them,  and 
still  live  as  a  devil,  56. 

FoxKS.  The  foxes  which  sippear  in  hell 
are  manifestations  of  the  cupidities  of  in- 
fernal spirits,  89. 

Obs. — Foxes,  in  the  Word,  represent 
those  who  trust  in  their  own  prudence, 
D.  P.,  311. 

Frekdom  makes  one  with  life.  88.  Free- 
dom is  the  powi  r  of  tldnking,  of  willing,  of 
speaking,  and  of  dohig ;  chiefly  it  is  the 
power  of  doing,  38  Freedom  was  given 
to  man  together  with  his  liie;  nor  is  it  iu 
any  case  taken  from  him,  38,  47.  Man's 
freedom  belongs  to  his  will ;  from  the  will 
it  exists  in  the  thought  of  the  iniderstand- 
ing ;  and  by  means  of  the  thought  it 
shows  itself  in  the  speech  and  in  the  action 
of  the  body,  48.  The  freedom  of  man 
makes  one  with  his  proprium,  and  with  his 
nature  and  disposition,  48.  There  is  an 
infernal  freedom,  and  there  is  a  heavenly 
freedom,  49.  The  infernal  freedom  is  that 
into  which  man  is  born  from  his  parents, 
and  the  heavenly  freedom  is  that  into 
which  he  is  reformed  by  the  Lord,  49. 
These  two  kinds  of  freedom  are  opposite 
to  each  other,  but  the  opposite  does  not 
appear,  except  so  far  as  man  is  in  the  one, 
and  not  in  the  other,  49,  Infernal  free- 
dom is  servitude  ;  heavenly  freetiom  is 
real  freedom,  because  from  the  Lord,  49, 
53.  The  freedom  of  thinking  and  willing 
good  in  itself  is  essential  freedom,  64. 

G.\RnEN8.  There  appear  in  heaven  pa- 
radisiacal gardens,  99.  Why  it  is  that  in 
so  many  passages  in  the  Word  mention  is 
made  of  gardens,  groves,  forests,  and 
trees,  100. 
Genii,  85. 

Obs. — The  most  cunning  sensual  spirits 

are   called  genii;  they  have  a  deep 

hell  behind,  and  wish  to  be  invibible, 

J).  P.,  310. 

Ger.min.\tions  (Why)  in    the    spiritual 

world  are  not  constant,  as  in  our  world, 


ALPHABETICAL  AND  ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


195 


ij  ^    germinations   of  the   spiritual 
world  are    the    productions    of  wisdom 
originating  in  love,  66,  69. 

Globe  (The  Terraqueous)  was  created, 
that  m  It  there  might  be  ultimate  material 
substances,  in  which  all  that  is  spiritual 
might  terminate,  and  creation  rest,  95. 

Go.\ts  (The)  which  appear  in  the  spirit- 
ual world  are  manifest.ations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

(?&.<»  —Goats,  in  tlie  Word,  signify  those 
who  are  in  faith  separated  from  char- 
ity, A.  a,  2830. 
God  is  love  itself,  and  wisdom  itself,  27 
God   is  good   itself,   and  truth  itself,  25 
God  IS   man,   6,   19,   96.     God  is  perfect 
man,  in  face  and  in  body  like  man.  there 
bemg  no  difference  as  to  form,   but  as  to 
essence,  27.     The  idea  of  God  as  man  is 
engrafted  from   heaven   in   every  nation 
throughout  the   whole    terrestrial    globe 
but  is  destroyed   in   Christendom,   6,  2o' 
Thp  Klea  of  God  in  heaven  is  the  Lord  6 
Without  such  an  idea  of  God  as  exists  in 
heaven,  man  cannot  be  saved,  6.     Everv 
m;tn  in  the  idea  of  his  spirit  sees  God  as 
m;in,  even  if  he  denies  that  God  is  man 
20.     (See  Trfea.)    God  alone  is  life  from 
Himself,  17.     There  is  a  Trinity  in  God 
and  there  is  also  a  Unity,  13.     God  is  one 
both  in  essence  and  in  person,  and  in  Him 
IS  &    Trinity,    14.      God,    in    whom    is  a 
Irinity,  w  One  person.  14.     God  is  the  All 
of  heaven  ;  so  much  so,  that  whether  we 
speak  0/  heaven  or  of  God,  it  is  the  same 
thing,  5. 

Good   does  not  exist  from    any  other 
origin  titan  love,  64.     Good  is  of  the  same 
quality  as  the  love,  64.     When  the  love  is 
evd,  its  delight  is  still  felt  as  a  good    al- 
though It  is  really  an  evil,  64.     From  good 
evil  IS  known,  and  from  truth  falsity,  1 10. 
Obs.— In   the   writings  of   the  Author, 
when  the  term  good  alone  is  mention- 
ed, spiritual  good  is  always  signified  ; 
If  any  other  good  is  spoken  of,  it  is 
described  as  natural,  civil,  or  moral 
good. 
Goon  of  Love  and  Truth  of  Faith  (The). 
The  good  of  love  is  derived  from  God  im- 
mediately ;  but  the  truth  of  faith  mediate- 
I.V,  72.    The  good  of  love  is  that  by  which 
the   Lord   leads   man;  and   the  truth   of 
faith  is  that  by  which  man  is  led,  72.    God 
conjoins  himself  to  man  by  means  of  the 
truth  of  love;  and  man  conjoins  Idmself  to 
God  by  means  of  the  truth  of  faith,  72. 

Governors.  In  the  societies  of  heaven 
there  are  superior  and  inferior  governors, 
82. 

Grand  Man  (The).  The  universal  an- 
gehc  heaven  is,  in  its  complex,  before  the 
Lord,  as  one  man,  and  may  be  called  the 
Grand  Man,  2U. 

Greece.     The  gods  of  Greece,  22. 

Groves.  There  appear  groves,  fields, 
and  plams  in  heaven,  99. 


f  ^   Habitatiox.    Man's  real  habitation  is 

I  m  the   spirituil  wor;d;  for  he  is  to  live 

[  there  to  eternity,  after  he  has  lived  a  few 

j  years  in  the  natural  world,  4. 

I      Hearing    has    for    its   principal    cause 

sound,  and  for  its  instrumental,  the  ear. 

26.     See  Ear.  ' 

Heart  and  Lungs  (The)  are  the  two 

sources  of  man's  bodily  life,  66. 

Heat  (The)  of  the  spiritual*  sun  is  tho 
divine  love  proceeding,  which  is  called  the 
divine  good,  27.  This  heat  is  the  g.)od  of 
love,  3.  The  heat  proceeding  from  the 
sun  of  the  world  is  not  material  ;  it  is  na- 
tuial,  33.  The  heat  only  changes  the 
st^ate  ot  the  substances  into  which  it  flows 
3o,  33.  The  light  and  heat  in  the  heaven.sj 
98. 

Heathen.  Most  of  the  heathen  per- 
ceive God  as  a  man,  73,  16.  The  lipathen 
sees  from  his  religion  the  truths  which  he 
IS  to  believe,  73.  The  heathen  is  saved 
in  his  religion,  as  the  Christian  is  in  his 
72.  ' 

Heathenism  of  the  Christian  world,  22 
C>&«.— The  heathenism  of  the  Christian 
icorld  exists  in  that  part  of  Christen- 
dom where  the  Word  is  taken  away 
from   the    people    and   replaced    by 
human  decisions.     See  Church,  ohs 
Heaven  (The  universal  angelic)  is  the 
divme  proceeding  of  the   Lord,  20.     This 
heaven  is  in  its  complex  before  the  Lord 
as  one  man,  and  may  be  called  the  Grand 
Man,  20.    The  universal  heaven  is  arranged 
generally,  specially,  and  particularlv,  into 
societies,  according  to  all  the  varieties  of 
affection  derived  from  love,  3.     Heaven 
does  not  consist  of  angels,  created  such  at 
once,  but  of  men  born   in  the  world,  who 
were  there  made  angels  by  the  Lord,  41 
See  42.    Tliere  a-e  three  heavens  and  three 
hells,   110.     The  whole  heaven  is  full  of 
uses,  112. 

Heaven.  Angels,  in  proportion  as  they 
are  recipients  of  divine  truth  and  divine 
good,  are  heavens  generally,  as  well  as 
heavens  individually.  111.  There  is  not 
belonging  to  any  angel  anvtiiing  which 
forms  heaven  in  him,  except  the  divine 
proceeding  from  the  Lord,  111. 

Hell.    Of  whom  hell  consists,  41.    Hell 
does  not  consi.st  of  spirits,  created  such  at 
once,  but  of  men  born  in  the  world,  who 
were  made  devils  or  satans  by  themselves 
41.     (See  4-2.)    The  diabolical  hell  is  the 
love  of  self,  and  the  satanical  hell  is  the 
love  of  the  world,  42.     Hell    is   arranged 
into  societies,  according  to  the  lusts  of  the 
love  of  evil  opposed  to  the  affections  of  the 
love  of  good,  3.     Why.  in  the  Word,  heli 
is  called   death,   and  its  inhabitants   are 
called  dead,  42.     lly  what  means  man  is 
brought  out  of  hell,  and  conducted  into 
heaven  by   the   Lord,   60.     The  hells  are 
at  this  day,  more   than  at   any  former 
period,    filled    Avith    men    who    worship 


196 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


ALPHABETICAL  AND  ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


197 


1^.3 


nature,  107.  Those  who  perform  no  use 
are  banished  to  the  hells,  112. 

Hkri.tics.  None  but  heretical  spirits 
speak  with  heretics,  74.     See  SpiriU. 

IIORt^ES  (The)  which  appear  in  the  spirit- 
ual world  are  manifestations  of  the  aflfec- 
tions  of  spirits  there,  89. 

Ol^s. — In  the  Word,  the  horse  signifies 
the  intellectual  principle,  A.  C,  2781. 

Human  Principle  (The)  of  the  Lord  is 
divine,  by  virtue  of  the  divine  principle 
which  was  in  Him  from  conception,  15. 

Idea.  In  the  thought  of  man  there  are 
two  ideas — one  abstract,  which  is  spiritual, 
and  one  not  abstract,  which  is  natural,  27. 
What  the  spiritual  and  what  the  natural 
idea  concerning  the  life  which  is  God  is, 
27.  Man  is  in  the  idea  of  his  spirit  when 
he  thinks  abstractedly,  and  in  the  idea  of 
his  body  when  he  does  not  think  abstract- 
edly, 20.  The  idea  of  God  as  man  is 
engrafted  from  heaven  in  every  nation 
throughout  the  whole  terrestrial  globe ;  but 
it  is  destroyed  in  Christendom.  6.  Why 
this  idea  is  lost  in  Christendom.  19.  From 
the  idea  of  God  as  man,  implanted  in  every 
one,  several  peoples  and  nations  have 
worshipped  as  gods  either  men  or  those 
who  api>eared  to  them  as  men,  22.  From 
this  implanted  principle  saints  are  at  this 
day  worshipped  as  gods  in  Christendom, 
22.  An  idea  from  the  thought  of  one  God 
primarily  opens  heaven  to  man ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  an  idea  of  three  Gods 
closes  it,  10. 

Idi.kness.  a  life  originating  in  the  love 
of  idleness  is  a  life  of  self-love,  and  of  the 
love  of  the  world  ;  an<l  hence  it  is  a  merely 
natural  life,  whicli  does  not  keep  the 
thoughts  of  man  together,  hut  scatters 
them  upon  every  vanity,  by  this  means 
turning  him  away  from  the  delights  of 
wisdom,  and  plunging  him  into  those  of  the 
mere  body  and  the  world,  with  which  evils 
are  in  close  connection,  112. 

InLKNFSH.  Heavenly  joy  does  not  con- 
sist in  itUeness ;  he  who  believes  so  is  much 
deceived,  84. 

Idlk  PKRaoN  (No)  is  toler;tted  even  in 
hell,  every  one  Is  obliged  to  work,  84. 

Ignorance.  The  reason  why  man  is 
born  into  mere  ignorance,  91. 

iMAGK.  Men  are  images  of  God  from  the 
reception  of  truth,  2^..    See  Likenessen. 

Impi.anteo.  21.  The  idea  of  God  as  man 
is  implanted  in  every  one.  22. 

ObH. — That  is  said  to  be  implanted 
which  proceeds  from  a  general  influx, 
A.  E.s  955.  General  influx  is  the  con- 
tinual tendency  {conatu^^  from  the 
Lord  through  the  universal  heaven, 
into  everv  single  thing  of  man's  life, 
A.  a,  6211. 

Imputk  (To).  The  reason  that  evil  is 
Imputed  to  man,  47. 

Infant.    The  man  who  dies  an  infant 


is  led  by  the  Lord  and  brought  up  by  the 


angels,  72. 


Infinitk  (The).  No  ratio  is  given  be- 
tween the  infinite  and  the  finite,  24.  There 
is  a  natural  as  well  as  a  spiritual  idea  of 
what  is  infinite,  33.  What  the  natural 
idea  of  the  infinite  God  is,  33. 

Influx,  The  Lord  enters  by  influx  into 
the  interiors  of  man's  mind,  and  through 
them  into  his  exteriors,  and  not  rice  ver,sd, 
67  ;  into  the  affection  also  of  his  will,  and 
through  it  into  the  thought  of  his  under- 
standing, and  not  tiee  verm,  67.  Man 
knows  nothing  whatever  of  the  influx 
which  enters  into  the  interiors  of  his  mind, 
nor  of  that  which  enters  into  the  affection 
of  his  will,  67.  How  the  Lord  enters  by 
influx  into  man,  and  leads  him,  6S. 
Divine  order  of  influx,  71.  Influx  of  life 
into  man,  47.  The  five  sensories  of  the 
body,  by  virtue  of  an  influx  from  within, 
are  sensil)le  of  the  impressions  which  enter 
by  influx  from  without;  the  influx  from 
within  is  from  the  spiritual  world,  but  the 
influx  from  without  is  from  the  natural, 
45.  Influx  is  spiritual,  and  not  physical; 
that  is,  it  is  from  the  soul,  which  is  spiri- 
tual, into  the  bodj',  which  is  natural,  and 
from  the  spiritual  world  into  the  natural, 
102. 

Inmost.  The  life  which  is  man's  inmost 
principle  is  perpetually  derived  from  the 
Lord's  presence  with  man,  47. 

In-ects  (Noxious)  were  not  created  from 
the  beginning,  but  had  their  origin  with 
hell,  90 

Instinct  of  animals,  86.  It  is  some 
spiritual  principle  which  leads  them,  and 
is  in  union  with  the  natural,  87. 

Instrumental  (That  is  called)  which 
suffers  itself  to  be  acted  upon,  and  that  is 
called  principal  which  act.s,  26. 

Intellectual  Facult  y.  The  Lord,  from 
the  intellectual  faculty  which  every  man 
possesses,  and  from  its  opposite,  is  present 
in  those  who  are  out  of  the  Church,  who  are 
in  hell,  or  will  come  into  hell,  and  knows 
their  whole  state.  104. 

Intercourse  with  Spirits  (Why)  was 
forbidden  to  the  children  of  Israel  on  pain 
of  death,  74. 

Intermediate.  All  that  is  intermediate 
from  the  first  principle  co  exists  in  the 
ultimate,  95. 

Intermediate  State.  Man  lives  in  an 
intermediate  state  between  heaven  and 
hell,  47. 

Internal  (The)  enters  by  influx  into  the 
external,  but  not  the  external  into  the 
internal,  48.  The  internal  producing  prin- 
ciple is  with  its  own  produce  in  all  its 
collective  and  several  parts,  86.  The 
internals  belong  to  man's  spirit,  the  ex- 
ternals to  his  body,  48. 

Italy  (Gods  of),  22. 

Jah.    God  is  called  Jah  from  esse^  94. 


\ 


Jehovah.  God  is  called  Jehovah  from 
esse  and  existere  in  himself,  94. 

Joy  (Heavenly)  is  according  to  uses  and 
the  love  of  them,  and  is  derived  from  no 
other  source,  84.  He  who  believes  that 
heavenly  joy  is  conferred  in  a  state  of 
idleness  is  much  deceived,  84. 

Judgment  (The  last)  is  accomplished, 
lest  man  should  be  for  ever  expecting  it  to 
take  place  in  his  own  world,  75. 

Juno,  22. 

Jupiter,  22. 

Kids  (The)  which  are  seen  in  the  spiri- 
tual world  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

Ohs. — A  kid,  in  the  Word,  signifies  the 
innocence  of  the  external  man,  A.  (7., 
8519. 

Kingdom  (Animal),  86—91.  Vegetable 
kingdom,  92 — lOl.     Mineral  kingdom,  96. 

Kingdom  of  God  ( The)  in  the  Word 
signifies  the  Lord  and  his  Church,  8Q. 

Kingdo.m  (The  Mineral)  is  merely  the 
storehouse  in  which  are  contained,  and 
from  which  are  taken,  the  substances  which 
compose  the  forms  of  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms.  96.  As  a  general 
principle,  one  kingdom  of  nature  was 
created  for  the  sake  of  another ;  the  mine- 
ral for  the  sake  of  the  vegetable,  &c.,  1 12. 

Kites  (The)  which  appear  in  the  world 
of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

Knowledge.  To  love  knowledge  is  to 
love  acquaintance  with  goodness  and  truth 
for  the  sake  of  real  uses,  81.    See  Ui^es. 

Known  (To  be).  From  heaven  is  known 
everytliing  that  exists  in  hell ;  from  good 
evil  is  known,  and  frogi  truth  falsity,  110. 

Koran  (The).  The  Mahometan,  after 
evils  are  removed,  sees  truths  from  the 
Koran,  73. 

Lambs  (The)  which  are  seen  in  heaven 
are  manifestations  of  the  affections  of 
angels,  89. 

Obs.— In  the  Word,  the  lamb  signifies 
the  inmost  good  of  innocence,  A.  (7., 
10182. 

Laws  (The)  inscribed  on  the  nature  of 
all  things,  45.  The  laws  of  order  which 
are  called  the  laws  of  the  divine  pro- 
vidence, 37.  The  Lord  can  lead  man  to 
heaven  only  by  these  laws.  38. 

Laws  of  Permission  (The),  which  are 
numerous,  proceed  from  the  laws  of  provi- 
dence, 56. 

Led  (To  be).  *  How  man  is  led  from  one 
affection  to  another  by  the  Lord,  68.  Why 
the  Lord  leads  man  by  the  affections  and 
not  by  the  thoughts,  69.  The  Lord  leads 
those  who  love  and  will  truths  from  Him- 
self, 75. 

Leopards  (The)  which  appear  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits  there,  89. 


Obfi. — Leopards,  in  the  Word,  represent 
those  who  confirm  falses  from  the 
Word,  O.  />.,  7S. 

Life.  That  which  proceeds  from  the 
sun  of  the  spiritual  world  is  called  life,  95. 
God  alone  is  life  from  himself;  an  angel 
is  not  life  from  lumself,  but  a  recipient  of 
life,  17.  The  reason  why  it  appears  as  if 
life  were  in  man,  26.  Without  an  idea  of 
what  life  is,  there  is  no  intelligence  of  what 
God  is,  27.  Life  cannot  be  created,  al- 
though it  can  create,  29.  All  things  derive 
their  being  from  the  life  itself,  which  is 
God,  and  which  is  man,  30.  Man  feels  and 
perceives  as  if  life  were  inherent  in  him^ 
because  the  life  of  the  Lord  in  him  is 
as  the  light  and  heat  of  the  sun  in  a 
subject,  39.  The  life  of  the  will  or  love 
corresponds  to  t''e  life  of  the  heart,  and 
the  life  of  the  U'^derstanding  or  wisdom 
corresponds  to  .bat  of  his  lungs,  66.  Life 
from  its  first  source,  which  is  the  sun  of 
heaven,  or  the  Lord,  is  perpetually  in  the 
effort  of  forming  a  likeness  and  image  of 
itself,  that  is  man,  and  out  of  man  an 
angel,  109.  The  animal  form  is  the  essen- 
tial form  of*  life,  109.  There  is  life  in  all 
the  several  and  most  minute  parts  of  man  ; 
the  part,  or  even  the  particle,  in  which 
there  is  no  life  becomes  dead,  and  is  dis- 
persed, 109.  Kvery  man  has  three  degrees 
of  life — the  lowest  is  common  to  him  with 
the  beasts,  but  the  two  higher  are  not  so, 
110.  It  is  by  means  of  these  two  higher 
degrees  that  man  is  man ;  they  are  closed 
with  the  wicked,  but  are  open  with  the 
good,  110.  The  reason  that  every  man  is 
not  intelligent  and  wise  is,  that  he  who 
is  not  so,  had  by  means  of  his  life  closed 
in  his  case  the  receptacle  of  heavenly  love, 
110. 

Light  (The)  of  the  spiritual  sun  is  the 
divine  wisdom  proceeding  which  is  called 
the  divine  truth,  27.  This  light  is  the 
truth  of  faith,  3.  The  light  i)roceeding 
from  the  sun  in  the  world  is  not  material, 
33.  Light  only  modifies  the  substances 
into  which  it  enters,  35,  33. 

Light  and  heat.  The  light  of  the  spiri- 
tual sun  is  divine  truth,  and  the  heat  is  the 
divine  good,  3, 17,  27.  The  light  and  heat 
of  the  spiritual  sun  are  the  light  and  heat 
of  life,  87.  The  light  is  the  truth  of  faith, 
and  the  heat  is  the  good  of  love,  8.  Light 
and  heat  in  the  heavens,  98. 

Likenesses.  Men  are  likenesses  of  God 
from  the  reception  of  good,  25.  See 
Image. 

Lions  (The)  lions  which  appear  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
affections  of  spirits  there,  89. 

Of>H. — Lions,  in  the  Word,  signify  those 
who  have  power  by  means  of  truth 
from  good,  A.  C,  6369. 

Lord  (The)  is  divine  love,  and  in  heaven 
before  the  angels  lie  appears  as  a  sun,  3, 
27.    The  Lord's  love  with  man  is  as  fire 


198 


THE   ATHANASIAN  CREED. 


ALPHABETICAL   AND   ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


199 


from  that  sun,  3.  In  Him  is  the  threefold 
principle  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
18.  The  three  divine  principles  called  by 
the  names  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit, 
are  in  the  Lord  one  in  essence  and  in 
person,  14.  He  is  the  life  itself,  24.  He 
is  the  only  man,  24.  He  wills  that  man 
should  speak  and  will,  and  thence  act,  as 
if  from  himself,  2(5.  He  dwells  with  man 
in  that  which  is  his  own,  that  which  he 
gave  him  for  the  sake  of  this  end,  that  he 
may  be  reciprocally  loved,  38.  The  Lord 
is  omnipresent  and  omniscient  in  all  the 
several  and  most  minute  things  belonging 
to  the  angels  of  heaven  and  to  the  men  of 
the  C  hurch,  109.  The  Lord  is  also  present 
with  those  who  are  out  of  the  Church, — 
who  are  in  hell,  or  will  come  into  hell,— 
and  knows  their  whole  state,  110. 

Obs. — By  the  Lord,  in  the  writings  of  the 
Author,  is  meant  only  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  Jesus  Christ,  A.  (?.,  14.     He 
is  the  one  and  only  God  of  heaven  and 
earth.     In  him  is  the  divine  trinity, 
namely,  the  very  divine,  which  is  called 
the  Father  -,  the  divine  human,  which  is 
called  the  Son ;  and  the  divine  proceed- 
ing, which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  A. 
a,  10Si2. 
Lot  (The)  of  those  who  are  guilty  of  pro- 
fanation in  the  other  life,  55.     The  lot  of 
those  who  are  constantly  evil,  56      Diifer- 
ence  between  them,  55,  56. 

Love  is  spiritual  conjunction,  8.  Love  is 
the  life  of  man,  for  man  is  of  the  same  quali- 
ty as  his  love,  48.  Man's  love  is  compara- 
tively as  fire,  and  his  thoughts  are  as  the 
rays  of  light  derived  from  it,  3.  All  love 
corresponds  to  fire,  and  in  the  spiritual 
world  it  is  so  presented  as  to  seem  like  tire 
at  a  distance,  42  The  divine  love  cannot 
be  conceived  of  in  its  essence,  but  may  be  in 
Its  ai)pearance,  27.  The  divine  love  consists 
in  this,  that  it  desires  that  what  belongs  to 
itself  should  belong  to  man,  3S.  1 1  euvenly 
love  is  love  to  the  Lord,  42.  Spiritual  love 
is  love  towards  the  neighbor,  42.  Self-love 
is  opposed  to  heavenly  love,  which  is  love 
to  the  Lord,  42.  By  loving  the  Lord  is  not 
meant  loving  Him  as  a  person,  but  the  love 
of  divine  good  and  divine  truth,  which  are 
the  Lord,  8.  The  love  of  the  world  is  op- 
posed to  spiritual  love,  which  is  love  to- 
wards the  neighbor,  42. 

Love  and  Wisdom  in  the  Lord  are  not 
two,  but  one ;  the  love  and  wisdom  proceed- 
ing from  the  Lord  as  a  sun  appear  as  two 
distinct  things,  but  both,  in  virtue  of  their 
origin  from  the  sun  of  heaven,  act  as  one, 
113.  Ihose  angels  who  receive  the  love, 
which  is  heat,  more  than  the  wisdom,  which 
is  light,  are  called  celestial  angels;  and 
others  who  receive  the  wisdom,  which  is 
light,  more'  than  the  love,  which  is  heat,  are 
called  spiritual  angels,  113.  Comparison 
of  the  light  and  heat,  or  love  and  wisdom 
of  the  spiritual  sun,  with  the  light  and  heat 


proceeding  from  the  natural  sun,  113.  All 
good  originates  in  love,  and  all  truth  in 
wisdom,  113.  The  reason  that  the  Lord's 
omnipresence  refers  to  love  and  good  is, 
that  the  Lord  is  present  with  man  in  the 
good  which  originates  in  liis  love;  and  the 
reason  that  his  omniscience  refers  to  wis- 
dom and  truth  is,  that  by  virtue  of  man's 
good,  which  originates  in  his  love,  he  is 
omnipresent  in  the  truths  of  his  under- 
standing; and  this  omnipresence  is  ciilled 
omniscience,  113.  The  case  is  the  same 
with  all  men  generally,  as  it  is  with  one 
man  individually,  113. 

LovK  and  to  do  (To)  are  one  in  the  Word ; 
where  mention  is  made  of  loving,  doing  is 
understood,  and  where  mention  is  made  of 
doing,  loving  is  also  understood,  8.  By 
love  to  the  Lord  is  not  meant  loving  Him  as 
a  person,  but  willing  and  doing  what  He  has 
commanded,  S. 

Lucifer.  Those  who  have  exercised  do- 
minion from  the  love  of  it  are  designated 
by  this  name,  79. 

Magi  (Who  the)  formerly  were  who  in 
Egypt  and  iJabel,  on  account  of  their  con- 
versing with  spirits,  and  the  operation  of 
spirits  upon  them  being  openly  felt,  were 
called  wise,  74. 

Magpies  (The)  which  appear  in  the  world 
of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the  ati'ec- 
tions  of  spirits,  89. 

.  Ohs. — Mai'pies  represent  those  who  be- 
lieve that  a  thing  is  true  because  they 
have  been  told  it  by  some  one  in  au- 
thority, T.  a  /?.,  42. 

Mahometan  (The)  sees  from  the  Koran 
the  truths  which  he  ouirht  to  believe,  73. 
The  Mahometan  is  saved  in  his  religion  as 
the  Christian  is  in  his,  72. 

Man  is  an  organ  of  life,  26.  He  is  an 
image  of  the  Lord  by  means  of  love  to  him, 
8.  He  is  a  recipient  of  life  from  the  Lord,  24. 
His  real  habitation  and  his  native  country 
are  in  the  spiritual  world,  4.  The  Lord  is 
the  only  man.  and  all  are  men  according 
to  the  reception  of  the  divine  good  and 
truth  from  Him,  24.  The  Lord  is  the  only 
man  because  He  is  the  life  itself,  but  all 
other  men,  because  they  arc  men  from 
Him,  are  recipients  of  Hfe,  24.  The  dis- 
tinction between  the  man  who  is  life,  and 
the  man  who  is  a  recipient  of  life,  is  like 
that  which  sul)sists  between  the  uncreate 
and  that  which  is  cr.'ated,  24.  All  men,  as 
to  the  interioi-s  which  belong  to  their  minds, 
are  spirits,  clothed  in  the  world  with  a  ma- 
terial body,  41  Man,  as  to  his  mind,  is  in 
the  spiritual  world,  while  with  his  body  he 
is  in  the  natural  worl  I,  2  His  thoughts 
diffuse  themselves  into  societies  of  the 
spiritu  d  world,  2.  He  is  of  a  quality  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  societies  with  which  he  is 
conjoined,  2.  Why  mm  is  led  by  the 
Lord  by  his  affections  rather  than  liis 
thoughts,  69.    Man  is,  as  to  his  spirit,  as 


long  as  he  lives  in  the  world,  in  the  midst 
of  spirits,  but  the  spirits  are  not  aware  that 
they  are  near  man,  nor  is  man  aware  that 
he  is  in  connexion  with  spirits,  74.     Man  is 
kept  in   an   intermediate    state    between 
heaven  and  hell,  47.    Every  man  has  im- 
planted in  him  the  faculty   of   thinking 
about  God,  and  of  understanding  the  things 
which   relate  to  God,  5.     The  worldly  and 
corporeal  man  does  not  see  God  except 
from  space,  19.    Every  man,  in  the  idea  of 
his  spirit,  sees  God  as  man,  20.     Man  is  led 
either  by  the  Lord  or  by  hell,  47.     Men  live 
also  as  men  after  death ;  in  heaven,  those 
who  are  led  by  the  Lord,  but  in  hell  those 
wlio  are  guided  by  themselves,  75.     Men- 
angels  and  men-devils  compared,  44.     All 
the  angels  of  heaven  and  all  tiie  men  (m 
earth  who  form  the  Church  are  as  one  man, 
and  the  Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man,  104. 
As  there  is  life  in  all  the  several  and  most 
minute  parts  of  man,  and  it  is  cognizant  of 
their  whole  stite,  so  the  Lord  is  in  all  the 
several  and  most  minute  things  belonging 
to  the  angtls  of  heaven  and  to  the  men  of 
the  Church,   104.      The  sole    cause    that 
heaven  and  the  Church  are  a  man  in  the 
greatest,  the  less,  and  the  least  concrete  or 
complex,  is  that  God  is  man,  and  hence  the 
divine  proceeding,  which  Is  the  divine  prin- 
ciple from  him,  is  shnilar  in  everything  least 
and  greatest,  that  is  man,  108.     Because  the 
angels  are  only  recipients,  and  the  divine 
principle  in  them  forms  the  angelic  prin- 
ciple and  heaven,  it  is  evident  that  the 
Lord  is  the  life  of  this  man,  that  is,  of 
heaven  and  the  Churcli,  108.     As  each  so- 
ciety in  heaven  is,  in  the  sight  of  tlie  Lord, 
jike  one  man,  an  angel  in  tlie  similarity  of 
its  affection,  so  each  society  in  hell  is,  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  like  one  man,  a  devil 
in  the  similarity  of  its  evil  affection,  110. 

Man  (The  Grand).  The  universal  an- 
gelic heaven  is  in  its  complex  before  the 
Lord  as  one  man,  who  may  be  called  the 
Grand  Man,  20. 

M  akki  age.  By  marriage,  in  the  Word,  is 
meant  conjunction  with  some  society  in 
heaven,  8. 

Material  things  are  in  themselves  fixed, 
stated,  and  measurable,  105.  Pure  fire, 
through  which  all  things  exist  mediately 
in  the  natural  world,  is  material,  105.  Af- 
ter death,  man  is  not  at  all  aware  that  he 
has  put  off  his  material  covering,  and  mi- 
grated from  the  world  of  his  body  into 
that  of  his  spirit,  105.  He  is  not  aware 
that  the  objects  which  are  seen  and  felt 
there  are  not  material,  but  substantial, 
from  a  spiritual  origin,  105. 

Matter.  Everything  extended  belongs 
to  matter,  33. 

Means.  See  End.  The  Lffrd  teaches 
man  truths  by  means  derived  from  the 
Word,  from  preaching,  and  reading,  Ac, 
t»7.  The  Lord  teaches  no  man  without  the 
use  of  means,  70. 


Men-angbls  and  Men-devils,  44. 

Mercurv,  22. 

Mercy  Seat  (The)  above  the  ark  is  the 
Lord,  72. 

Mice  were  not  created  in  the  beginning, 
they  originated  with  hell,  90.  The  mice 
which  appear  in  hell  are  manifestations  of 
the  cupidities  of  infernal  spirits,  89,  90. 

MiLCOLM,  22. 

Mind.  In  man  the  two  faculties  of  life, 
understanding  and  will,  when  they  form 
one,  are  called  one  mind,  65.  Man  has  a 
spiritual  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
natural  mind  ;  his  spiritual  mind  is  above 
his  natural  mind,  91.  Man,  as  to  his  mind, 
is  in  the  spiritual  world,  2.  The  mind, 
which  is  spirit,  acts,  and  the  body,  which 
is  matter,  is  acted  upon,  41.  "Whatever 
has  been  once  impressed  upon  the  mind  of 
man  by  means  of  love  cannot  be  extir- 
pated, 55. 

OOs. — In  the  writings  of  the  Author  we 
meet  with  four  expressions  apparently 
synonymous,  but  which  are,  however, 
perfectly  distinct  from  each  other,  *.  e., 
€piritu.s,  aninia,  7)ieiM,  and  animus. 
Spiritus  (the  spirit,  properly  so  call- 
ed), organized  in  a  perfectly  human 
form,  and  sj)iritually  visible  and  tangi- 
ble, contains  within  it  the  anima^ 
menn^  and  animus.  The  anima  (the 
soul)  is  the  very  inmost  of  the  spirit ;  it 
is  from  it  that  the  spirit  is  and  lives,  for 
it  is  the  very  essence  of  its  life.  Tlie 
7n.erui  (mind)  is  the  internal  man,  with- 
in which  is  the  soul,  or  inmost  man ; 
and  it  is  also  the  external  man  within 
which  is  the  internal  man,  for  there  are 
two  minds,  the  one  internal  and  the 
other  external,  because  there  is  in  man 
an  internal  will  and  an  external  will, 
an  internal  understanding  an<l  an  ex- 
ternal understanding ;  the  internal 
will  and  understanding  constitute  the 
uiternal  man  or  internal  mirnl,  and  the 
external  will  and  understanding  con- 
stitute the  external  man  or  external 
mind.  The  animus  is  a  still  more  ex- 
ternal or  exterior  mind,  formed  by  the 
affections  and  disi)ositions,  which  re- 
sult chiefly  from  education,  society, 
and  cusioiii  (see  Animus^  obs.)\  it 
contains  within  it  these  two  minds  and 
the  soul.  In  this  world  the  spirit,  or 
man-spirit,  is  clothed  with  a  terrestrial 
body  which  renders  it  invisible,  but 
when  freed  from  this  body  by  natural 
death,  the  man-spirit  enters  the  world 
of  spirits  with  his  spiritual  body,  and 
is  then  called  a  spirit.  ' 

Minerals.    Their  vegetation,  ^Q. 
Minerva,  22. 

Mines,  Vegetation  of  minerals  in  mines 
wherever  an  aperture  is  found,  96. 

Miracles  (By)  the  externals  of  man's 
spirit,  which  consists  in  thinking  and  will- 
ing, is  compelled,  53.    If  man  could  have 


II 


200 


THE   ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


been  reformed  by  miracles  and  visions, 
then  all  men  throughout  the  whole  wurld 
would  be  so,  53.  Miracles  close  the  path 
to  man's  refoimation,  for  they  persuade 
and  compel  belief,  and  thus  bind  and  im- 
prison the  thoughts,  53,  Wliom  those  who 
wish  for  miracles  nsemble,  54. 

Modification.  In  what  the  modification 
of  created  things  consists,  94. 

Moloch,  22. 

Moravians.  None  but  Moravian  spirits 
operate  upon  Moravians,  74. 

Moved  (To  be).  Everything  acted  upon, 
or  moved,  seeks  to  return  to  an  equihbrium. 
45. 


Nails  (The)  are  of  the  number  of  ulti- 
mates,  which  the  spiritual  principle  pro- 
duces in  the  human  body,  the  life,  which  is 
from  the  soul,  terminating  in  them,  100. 
^6#.— Nails,  in  the  Word,  signify  the  ul- 
timate of  the  natural  or  sensual,  A.  C'.. 
7729. 
Natukal.     Everything  which  proceeds 
from  the  sun,  which  is  pure  fire,  is  called 
natural,  85.      (See  Sun.)     That  which   is 
natural  from  its  origin  has  no  life  in  itself, 
85. 

Nature,  95.    That  which  proceeds  from 
the  sun  of  the  world,  which  is  pure  fire,  is 
called  nature,  95.     Nature  derives  its  be- 
ginning from  the  sun  of  the  world,  95.    Na- 
ture in  itself  is  dead,  having  been  created 
in  order  that  that  which  is  spiritual  may 
be  clothed  from  it  with  forms  to  serve  for 
use,  95.     Nothing  in  nature  exists  but  from 
a  spiritual  origin,  and  by  means  of  it,  94. 
Tlicre  neither  is  nor  can  be  in  nature  any- 
thing whatever  in  whii-h   there   is  not  a 
spiritual  principle,  85.     There  is  a  union  of 
spiritual  and  natural  things  in  all  the  fol- 
lective  and  several  sul)jeots  and  objects  of 
the  three  kingdoms  of  nature,  b6.     Nature 
does  not  produce  anything  from  itself,  but 
merely  ministers  to  the  si)iritual  principle 
proceeding  from  the  sun  of  heaven,  which 
is  the  Lord,  102.    Those  who  ascribe  to  na- 
ture the  generations  of  animals,  and  the 
productions  of  vegetables,  are  like  those 
who    ascribe     magnificent    and    splendid 
works  to  the  tool,  rather  than  to  tljc  artist, 
102.     Natitre  has  nothing  to  do  with  life, 
but  that  life  may  be  clothed  from  it,  and 
Come  forth  presenting  itself  to  view  in  form 
as  an  animated  being,  87.     if  space  and 
time  are  not  removed  from  the  ideas,  when 
thinkiiii;  of  the  divine  attributes,  no  other 
thought  can  be  formed  than  that  nature  is 
everything— that  it  is  self-existent,  that  life 
is  derived  from  it,  that  its  inmost  principle 
is  that  which  is  called  Uod,  and  that  all 
besides  it  is  imaginary,  lo7.    The  hells  are 
at  this  day,  more  than  at  any  former  pe- 
riod, tilled  with  men  who  worship  nature, 
107. 

Nat(jrali8.m  arises  from  thinking  of  di- 
vine subjects  from  the  properties  of  na- 


ture, which  are  matter,  space,  and  time, 
107.  At  the  present  day  naturalism  has  al- 
most deluged  the  Church,  107. 

Naturalists.  Their  fate  in  the  other 
world,  107. 

Nru;h»or  (The)  is  that  property  from 
which  every  one  is  man,  that  is  his  spirit- 
ual nature,  S3.  Use,  in  the  spiritual  sense, 
IS  our  neiglibor,  83.  (See  U^es.)  To  per- 
form uses  is  to  love  our  neighbor,  84. 
No  one  can  be  kept  by  the  Lord  in  the 
love  of  Ids  neighbor,  unless  he  is  in  some 
degree  of  love  for  the  public  good,  112. 

Neptune,  22. 

Nostrils.  The  volatile  particles  in  the 
air  are  the  principal  cau^es  of  smell,  and 
the  nostiils  are  the  instrumental  causes, 
26.  The  nostrils  perceive  from  within 
what  enters  in  from  without,  sometimes  at 
a  great  distance,  45, 

Nothing.  From  nothing,  nothing  ori^^i- 
nates,  29.  ° 


Omnipotence  (The  divine),  in  all  indi- 
vidual thin^rs,  regards  what  is  eternal,  62. 
Stupendous  testimonies  to  the  divine  omni- 
potence, 34. 

Omnii'rksence  of  God,  103—113.  It  is 
acknowledged  in  every  form  of  religion, 

103.  Belief  in  the  omnipresence  of  (Jod 
b  derived  from  an  influx  from  the  spiritu- 
al world,  with  those  who  are  possessed  of 
religion,  103.  The  Lord's  omnipresence 
proceeds  principally  from  the  divine  love, 

104.  It  is  better  that  the  simple-minded 
should  not  think  of  the  divine  omnipre- 
sence and  omniscience  from  any  reasoning 
of  the  understanding,  but  simply  believe 
them  from  a  principle  of  religion,  107. 
The  reason  why  the  Lord's  omnipresence 
refers  to  good  and  love,  113. 

Omni.sciknce  (The)  of  God,  103—113. 
It  is  acknowledged  in  every  form  of  reli- 
gion, lo3.  Belef  in  the  omniscience  of 
(iod  is  derived  from  an  influx  from  the 
spiritual  world,  with  those  who  are  pos- 
sessed of  religion,  103.  Spaces  and  times 
must  be  removed  from  the  ideas,  in  order 
that  the  divine  omniscience  of  things  pre- 
sent and  future  may  be  understood,  104. 
The  Lord's  omniscience  proceeds  princi- 
pally from  the  divine  wisdom,  104.  The 
reason  why  the  Lord's  omniscience  refers 
to  wisdom  and  truth,  113. 

O.MNISCIENCE  (The  divine),  in  all  indi- 
vidual things,  regards  what  is  eternal. 
62. 

Operation  (The)  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
man's  love,  and  from  it  upon  his  under- 
standing, and  not  vice  »er«d,51,  66.  'ihe 
reason  why,  51. 

Opulkncis  affects  principally  the  minds 
{animi)  of%ien,  76.  Opulence  and  emi- 
nence specially  belong  to  the  natural  man, 
76.  In  heaven  opulence  originates  in 
knowledge,  Si,     See  JiJniintnce. 

Ukdek  (Divine).    Its  manifestations  i» 


ALPHABETICAL   AND  ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


201 


the  spiritual  world,   and  in  the  natural 
world,  31.    The  laws  of  order,  37. 

Organ.  Man  is  an  organ  of  life,  26. 
Production  of  the  diverse  organs  of  sense 
and  motion ;  also  of  nutrition  and  propa- 
gation, 96. 

Origin  of  animals  and  of  vegetables,  100. 
Origin  of  the  love  of  self  and  of  the  world, 
43.  The  life  itself,  which  is  God,  is  with- 
out origin,  32. 

Owls  (The)  which  appear  in  hell  are 
manifestations  of  the  cupidities  and  falses 
of  infernal  spirits,  89. 

Ob8. — Owls,  in  the  Word,  signify  gross 
falsities,  A.  6^  866. 

Oxen  (The)  which  appear  in  the  spiritu- 
al world  are  manifestations  of  the  afifec- 
tions  of  spirits,  69. 

Obs. — Oxen,  in  the  Word,  signify  the 
good  of  the  natural  principle,  A.  C., 
5198.  ' 

Palaces  in  heaven,  their  description, 
82. 

Parallel  between  the  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdoms,  92. 

Pahrot.  If  that  which  is  not  intelligi- 
ble is  to  be  believed,  man  might  have  been 
taught  like  a  parrot,  9. 

Particulars.  The  divine  providence 
is  in  the  most  minute  particulars  of  man's 
life,  6S,  70.  ^  It  operates  upon  the  most 
minute  particulars  of  man's  thought  and 
will,  51,  71.     See  36. 

Peacocks  (The)  which  appear  in  the 
world  of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the 
afl'ections  of  spirits  there,  89. . 

Perception,  33,  and  elsewhere. 

Obs. — Perception  is  an  internal  sensa- 
tion, relative  to  the  good  and  the  true, 
corain;,'  only  from  the  Lord,  A.  C, 
104.  Perception  consists  in  seeing 
tUat  the  true  is  true,  that  the  good  is 
good;  and  in  seeing  that  the  evil  is 
evil,  and  the  false  is  false,  A.  C,  7680. 

Periods  of  time  resemble  spaces ;  for 
progressions  through  spaces  are  also  pro- 
gressions through  periods  of  time,  106. 
Periods  of  time  are  varied  according  to 
the  states  of  aflFections,  and  of  the  thoughts 
derived  from  them,  106. 

Permission.  It  was  of  divine  permis- 
sion that  the  doctrine  concerning  God  and 
the  Lord  was  so  conceived  by  Athana- 
slus,  16.  Permission  of  evil,  its  source, 
87,  55. 

Permi.^sion  (Why)  is  granted  to  treat  of 
the  subjects  which  relate  to  God  from  spi- 
ritual light,  and  from  a  rational  sight  de- 
rived from  it,  103. 

Person.  Why  it  was  permitted  of  di- 
vine providence  that  Athanasius  should 
make  use  of  the  word  person  in  his  creed, 
16, 

Phantasy,  42,  43,  55, 

Obs. — Phantasy  is  an  appearance  of 
perception ;  it  consists  in  seeing  what 


is  true  as  false,  and  what  is  {rood  as 
evil ;  and  in  seeing  evil  as  good,  and 
the  false  as  true,  A.  (.'.,  7680. 
Pleasure  and  life  are  one,  38. 
Pluto,  22. 

PoPK  (Adoration  of  the),  22. 
Power.  Man  has  no  power  of  himself, 
nor  yet  any  angel,  35.  Man  has  power,  as 
if  from  himself,-to  receive  both  good  and 
evil,  47.  The  Lord  also  gives  him  power 
to  know  that  all  good  is  from  llim,  and 
all  evil  from  the  devil,  47, 

Pray  (To).  Why  men  pray  to  the  Lord 
to  hear  them,  to  look  upon  them,  and  to 
have  mercy  upon  them,  103. 

Principal.  That  is  called  principal 
which  acts,  and  that  instrumental  which 
suffers  itself  to  be  acted  upon,  26. 

Proceeding  (  rhe  Divine).  There  is  not 
belonging  to  any  angel  any  thing  which 
forms  heaven  in  him,  nor  any  thing  be- 
longin.,'  to  any  man  which  forms  the 
Church  in  him,  except  the  Divine  proceed- 
ing from  the  Lord,  111. 

Productions  are  continuations  of  crea- 
tion, 97.  Productions  from  our  earth  are 
derived  from  that  which  is  spiritual, 
through  nature  as  a  medium,  while  those 
on  the  earth  in  the  heavens  are  formed 
without  nature's  assistance,  99. 

Profanation.  The  fate  in  another  life 
of  those  who  are  guilt  v  of  profanation,  55. 
Why  it  is  so  dreadful,  55.  There  are  seve- 
ral kinds  of  profanation,  55. 

Profane  (To)  holy  things.  What  it  is, 
55. 

Proprium  (The)  of  man  is  distinguished 
from  that  which  is  not  so  in  the  spiritual 
world,  65.  The  proprium  resides  in  the 
interiors  ;  but  that  which  is  not  so  in  the 
exteriors,  the  former  being  veiled  and  con- 
cealed by  the  latter,  65. 

Obn.  —The  proprium  of  man  is  to  love 
himself  rather  than  God,  and  to  love 
the  world  rather  than  heaven,  and  to 
regard  the  neighbor  as  nothinir  in  com- 
parison with  himself,  //.  //[,  283, 
Providence  (The  Divine)  is  continual 
and  operative  in  the  most  minute  parti- 
culars   in    man's    life,  68.     It  moves  so 
secretly  that  there  is  scarcely  a«y  vestige 
of  it  apparent,  although  it  operates  upon 
the  most  minute  things  of  man's  thought 
and  will,  which  regard  his  eternal  state,  51. 
The  divine  providence,  in  all  individual 
things,  regards  what  is  eternal,  62. 

PrjuDKNCE.  It  is  better  that  man  should 
ascribe  the  operations  of  the  divine  pro- 
vidence to  prudence  and  fortune,  than 
that  he  should  acknowledge  them,  and 
still  live  as  a  devil,  36  Man  from  his  own 
prudence  has  led  hhuself  to  eminence  and 
opulence,  when  they  lead  astray,  76. 

Punishments  do  not  remove  the  will, 
the  intention,  and  the  consequent  thought 
of  evil ;  they  merely  prevent  the  act,  61. 
Purgatory.    If  that  which  is  not  Intel- 


202 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


Ugible  IS  to  be  believed,  man  might  have 
been  taught  like  a  parrot,  to  say  and  to 
remember  that  man  will  be  tormented  in 
purgatory,  9. 

Pv-rnoNic  Diviners  (The),  who  they 
were  formerly,  74 

Quails  (The")  wliich  appear  in  the  world 
of  spirits  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

Ob8.-  Quails,  in  the  Word,  signify  natu- 
ral  pleasures,  A.  (7.,  b462. 

QcAKKus.  None  but  Quaker  spirits 
operate  upon  Quakers,  74. 

Quality  (The)  of  life  entei-s  by  influx 
from  without,  46.  From  the  end  all  the 
quality  is  derived,  63.  The  quality  of  ac- 
knowledgment is  precisely  according  to 
the  quality  of  the  love,  39. 


Rkformed  (To  be).  Being  reformed  is 
the  same  thing  as  being  removed  from 
evil  loves,  55.  Mmu  is  reformed  by  means 
of  freedom,  but  not  otherwise,  53.  Man  is 
reformed  only  by  means  of  combat  a<'ainst 
evils.  SO. 

/Rkligio.n  (Christian).  Why  the  Chris- 
tian religion  is  divided  into  Churches,  and 
into  heresies  within  them,  generally  and 
particularly,  71.  In  whatever  religion 
man  lives  he  may  be  saved,  72.  73.  Reli- 
gion, with  the  nations  who  are  not  within 


Rams  (The)  which  appear  in  the  spirit- 
ual world  are  manifestations  of  the  affec- 
tions of  spirits  there,  89. 

Obs  —In  the  Word,  a  ram  signifies  the 

interior  good    of   innocence,   A     C 

10182.  '  *' 

Ratio.    There  is  no  ratio  between  that 

which  is  infinite  and  that  which  is  finite, 

24,38;  nor  between  that  which  is  dead 

and  that  which  is  living,  33. 

Rational   Pkinciple    (The),    12    and 
elsewhere. 

Obs.—The  rationdl  principle  partakes  of 
the  spiritual,  and  of  the  natural,  or  it 
is  a  medium  between  the  internal  and 
the  external,  A.  C,  268;  between 
heaven  and  the  world. 
Ratioxality.  Reason,  regarded  in  it- 
self, is  called  rationality,  37. 

Real.    The  objects  which  exist  in  the 
spiritual  world,  though  not  material,  are 
Still  real,  because  tlicy  exist  from  the  same 
origin,  as  all  the  objects  in  the  natural 
world,   105.    They  are   even    more    real  | 
than  those  in  the  natural  world  ;  for  that  i 
which  is  in  nature  added  to  the  spiritual 
principle   is  dead,  and  does  not  produce  ' 
reality,  but  diminishes  it,  105.  | 

Rkcipient.  Man  is  only  a  recipient  of 
good  and  truth  from  the  Lord,  and  of  evil 
and  falsitjr  from  hell,  45.  A  recipient  of 
life  cannot  act  from  itself,  but  it  can  act 
as  if  from  itself,  35.  Every  thing  is  re-  • 
ceived  according  to  the  state  and  form  of  l 
the  recipient,  46. 

RECIPR..CITY.  'It  is  by  means  of  reci- 
procity that  conjunction  is  effected.  48,  51 
Recreations  in  heaven  are  also  uses 
84.    See  Lsea. 

Reformation.  Operation  of  the  Lord 
In  reformation,  52.  Law  of  order  relating 
to  reformation,  56.  Miracles  and  visions 
close  the  path  of  reformation,  53 

Reformed  (The).  Without  the  Athana- 
sian  doctrine,  the  Reformed  Church  would 
not  have  seen  the  divine  in  the  human 
principle  of  the  Lord,  16. 


the  boundaries  of  the  Christian  world 
takes  the  place  of  the  Word,  and  is  partly 
derived  from  it,  71.  These  nations  are 
taught  by  the  Lord,  mediately  through 
their  own  religion,  71 .  It  is  acknowledged 
in  every  form  of  religion  that  God  is  omni- 
present and  omniscient,  103. 

Resist  (To)  Who  those  are  who  are 
able  to  resist  evils  as  if  from  themselves 
61.  Man  cannot  of  himself  resist  evils  •  he' 
can  only  do  so  from  the  Lord.  61.  For 
man  to  resist  the  delight  of  his  love  is  to 
resist  himself,  his  own  nature,  and  his 
own  life,  61. 

Responsible.    Why  man  is  responsible, 

Revelation.   No  immediate  revelation  is 
given,  but  that  which  has  been  given  in  the 
.  U  Old,  71.     Such  is  the  nature  of  this  reve- 
I  lation,  that  every  man  mav  be  taught  from 
it,  according  to  the  atfections  of  his  love 
and   the    thoughts  of  his  understanding 
derived  Irom  them,  71. 
Riches  (Love  of),  80. 
Rigiiteuusnkss,  in  Matt.  vi.  38,  signifies 
spiritual,  moral,  and  civil  good,  83 

Roman  Catholics  (The)  separate  the 
divine  principle  of  the  Lord  from  his 
human,  16.  Without  the  Athanasian  Creed 
they  would  not  otherwise  have  acknow- 
ledged the  divine  principle  of  the  Lord,  16 
Rule  (The  love  of),  when  it  is  the  prin- 
cipal end,  is  the  very  fire  of  hell,  79  The 
gratification  of  the  love  of  rule  exceeds 
every  other  in  the  life  of  man  ;  it  is  con- 
tinually  exhaled  from  hell,  bO.  The  love 
of  rujo  and  the  love  of  wealth  universally 
prevail  m  the  Christian  worid  ;  their  true 


qualities  described,  80. 

Salvation  (The)  of  man  was  the  end  of 
the  creation  both  of  heaven  and  earth  36 
The  salvation  of  man  is  the  all  in  all  of  the 
divine  providence,  36.     The  Lord  provides 
a  universal  medium  of  salvation,  73 

Satan  (By),  in  the  Word,  is  meant  the 
hell  inhabited  by  satans,  41.  Satans  are 
tliose  in  whom  the  love  of  the  world  has 
predominated,  41.     See  Devil. 

Obs.—ln  hell,  those  who  are  in  evil  by 
derivation  from  the  understanding 
dwell  in  front,  and  are  called  satans ; 
and  those  who  are  in  evil  from  the  will 
dwell  to  the  back,  and  are  called 
devils,  a  L.,  492.    In  the  Word,  the 


ALPHABETICAL   AND   ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


203 


devil  means  the  hell  which  is  at  the 
back,  and  is  inhabited  by  the  very  worst 
spirits,  called  evil  genii;  and  satan 
denotes  the  hell  which  is  in  front,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  are  not  so  malig- 
nant, and  are  called  evil  spiriis,  //.  //., 
544.  i         .  , 

Saturn,  22. 

Self-Love.  Self-love  and  the  love  of 
the  world  constitute  hell,  43. 

Sensation.  That  which  produces  sen- 
sation and  perception  in  man  enters  by 
influx,  26. 

Sensories  (The)  of  the  body  are  only 
recipient  and  percipient,  as  if  from  them- 
selves, 45.  The  five  sensories  of  the  body, 
by  virtue  of  an  influx  from  within,  are  sen- 
sible of  the  impressions  which  enter  by 
influx  from"  without,  45.  For  each  sensory, 
see  45. 

Serpents  (Poisonous)  were  not  created 
from  the  beginning,  but  originated  with 
hell,  90.  The  serpents  which  appear  in 
liell  are  manifestations  of  the  cupidities  of 
infernal  spirits,  b9. 

06*.— Serpents,  in  the  Word,  signify  the 

sensual  principle  of  man,  or  men  who 

reason  from  the  sensual  principle,  A. 

C,  6949.  Poisonous  serpents  represent 

those  who  deceitfully  pervert  truths  to 

evil  purposes,  A.  C,  9013. 

Sheep.     (The)  which  appear  in  heaven 

are    manifestations   of  the  affections    of 

angels  there,  89. 

C>6.v.— Sheep,  in  the  Word,  signify  the 
good  of  the  will-principle,  or  those  who 
are  in  that  good,  A.  C%  10132. 
She  Goats,  89. 

Obs.—The  she  goat,  in  the  Word,  signi- 
fies the  good  of  truth,  or  the  man  who 
is  in  that  good,  A.  C,  4169. 
Sight  has  for  its  principal  cause  light, 
and  for  its  instrumental  cause  the  eye,  26. 
See  Eye. 

Similarities.  Extensions  of  spaces  or 
distances,  with  the  angels,  are  according 
to  the  similarities  and  dissimilarities  of 
their  state,  106.  Similarity  of  state,  con- 
tracting the  extension  of  space  or  distance, 
produces  conjunction;  dissimilarity,  in- 
creasing such  extension,  causes  separation. 
106. 

Simple-Minded  (The).  It  is  better  that 
the^  simple-minded  should  not  think  of  the 
divine  omnipresence  and  omniscience  from 
any  reasoning  of  the  understanding,  but 
simply  believe  them  from  a  principle  of 
religion,  107. 

Skin  (The),  with  the  cartilages  and 
bones,  constitutes  the  ultimate  degree  of 
life,  2S. 

Slavery.    The  freedom  of  evil  is  slavery, 
64. 
Smell,  26.    See  Koatrils. 
Snow.     Why  the  forms   of   the  snow- 
flakes  seem  to  emulate  those  of  vegetable 
Ufe,  96. 


Societies.  Heaven  consists  of  innume- 
rable societi,es ;  and  hell  also,  2.  Heavenly 
societies  are  arranged  in  order,  according 
to  all  the  varieties  of  affections  derived 
from  love;  on  the  other  hand,  hell  is 
arranged  into  societies,  according  to  the 
lusts  of  the  love  of  evil,  opposed  to  the 
affections  of  the  love  of  good,  8,  34,  46.  68, 
69.  In  heaven  all  are  known,  as  to  theia 
quality,  fi  om  the  societies  to  which  they 
belong,  46.  Every  society  of  heaven  is  hi 
a  human  form,  23.  Every  society  in  hell 
corresponds  by  contrast  to  every  society  in 
heaven,  110. 

Si)CiNi.*NS.  Unless  men  had  accepted  a 
Trinity  of  persons,  they  would  at  that  time 
have  become  Arians  or  Socinians,  and 
the  Christian  Church  would  have  perished, 
16.  None  but  Socinian  spirits  operate 
upon  Socinians,  74.    See  Spirit. 

Son  (To  see  the),  John  vi.  40,  Ls  to  see 
the  Lord  with  the  iSpirit,  23. 

Soul  (The)  is  united  with  the  body  in  all 
its  collective  and  general  parts,  86.  All 
that  which  is  essence  is  called  soul,  94.  The 
soul  of  beasts,  regarded  in  itself,  is 
spiritual,  but  not  in  the  degree  in  which 
the  souls  of  men  are  so,  but  in  an  inferior 
degree,  90.  What  the  vegetable  soul  is. 
92,  HO. 

J5PACE.  There  is  no  space  in  the  spiri- 
tual world,  space  there  being  only  an 
appearance,  derived  from  that  which  re- 
sembles it,  19.  Space  and  time  are  the  two 
properties  of  nature,  33.  In  the  natural 
world  there  are  spaces  and  times,  but  in 
the  spiritual  world  they  are  appearances, 

105.  In  the  natural  world  spaces  and 
times  are  fixed,  stated,  and  measurable, 

106.  They  must  be  removed  from  the 
ideas,  in  order  that  the  omnipresence  of 
the  Lord  with  all  men,  and  his  omniscience 
of  things  present  and  future,  may  be  un- 
derstood, 104,  106,  107.  Spaces  and  ex- 
tensions are  not  such  before  God,  108. 

Speech.  Man  \\i\s  the  faculty  of  speak- 
ing because  he  can  think  rationally,  91. 
The  Lord,  in  the  Word,  speaks  with  every 
one,  according  to  his  capacity,  75. 

Speech  of  spirits  with  man,  74.  Many 
persons  are  under  the  belief  that  man  may 
be  taught  by  God  by  means  of  spirits 
speaking  with  him  ;  but  those  who  believe 
this,  and  foster  the  belief  in  their  will,  are 
not  aware  that  it  is  connected  with  danger 
to  their  souls,  74.  Only  similar  spirits 
speak  with  man,  or  operate  manifestly 
upon  him,  for  manifest  operation  coincides 
with  speech,  74. 

_  Sphere.  That  is  called  the  sphere  of  the 
life  of  an  angel,  which  proceeds  from  his 
soul  and  from  his  body,  17.  Sphere  of 
the  affections  and  thoughts  of  man,  ^. 

Spirit.  Every  spirit  is  a  man,  19. 
Spirits  are  affections  originating  in  love, 
and  thus  also  thoughts,  84.  The  spirits  of 
heaven  are  affections  of  the  love  of  good, 


204 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CUEED. 


ALPHABETICAL  AND  ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


205 


and  the  spirits  of  hell  affections  of  the 
love  of  evil,  84.     The  spirits  which  are 
with  man  are  conjoined  immediately  as  to 
the  affections  of  the  will,  and  mediatily 
as  to  the  thoughts  of  the  understanding, 
74 ;  they  do  not  know  that  they  are  with 
man,  74 ;   but  as  soon  as  spirits  begin  to 
speak  with  man,  they  leave  their    own 
•spiritual  state  and  enter  into  man's  natural 
state  ;    and  being  then  aware  that  they 
are  with  man,  they  conjoin  themselves  with 
the  thoughts  of  his  affection,  and  from  them 
converse  with  him,  74.     It  is  from  this  cir- 
cumstance that  when  a  spirit  speaks,  he  is 
in  the  same  principles  as  the  man  with 
whom  he  speaks  ;  and  further,  that  he  calls 
them  into  activity,  and  by  means  of  his 
affection  conjoined  to  that  of  the  man 
strongly  confirms  them,  74.     When  a  man 
imagines  that  the  spirit  speaking  with  iiim 
or  operating  upon  him  is  the  Holy  Spirit 
the  spirit  also  himself  believes  that  he  is 
so,  74.     All  spirits  that  speak   with  men 
were  once   men   in   the   world,   74.     The 
danger  to  which  a  man  is  exposed  who 
speaks  with  spirits,  or  manifestly  perceives 
their  operation.  74. 

Spirit  (The  Holy)  is  the  divine  proceed- 
ing from  the  Lord  as  a  sun,  from  whom 
heaven  has  its  being,  71. 
Spirit  (Vital),  51. 

SpiitiTCAL.  That  is  called  spiritual 
which  proceeds  from  the  sun,  which  is 
divine  love,  85.  (See  Sun.)  That  which 
is  spiritual  from  its  origin  has  life  in  itself 
85.  Tlie  spiritual  and  natural  exist  in 
every  created  object  in  this  world,  the 
spiritual  as  the  internal,  and  the  natural 
as  the  external,  or  the  spiritual  as  the 
cause  and  the  natural  as  the  effect  85. 
There  neither  is  nor  can  be  in  nature  any- 
thing whatever  in  which  there  is  not  a 
spiritual  principle,  85.  The  spiritual  acts 
upon  the  natural,  and  by  means  of  it 
produces  its  own  effects,  as  the  principal 
cause  acting  by  means  of  its  instrumental 
cause,  86.  There  is  inheient  in  all  that  is  ! 
spiritual  a  plastic  force  where  there  are  ho- 
mogeneous exhalations  in  nature  present 
and  there  is  also  a  propagative  force,  90  ' 
Stags,  89. 
Obs.— The  stag,  in  the  Word,  signifies 

natural  affection,  A.  C,  6413. 
State  and  Form.  Everything  is  received 
afcording  to  the  state  and  form  of  the  re- 
cipient, 46.  By  state  in  man  is  meant  his 
love,  and  by  changes  of  state  the  affections 
of  love ;  by  form  in  him  is  meant  his  in- 
telligence, and  by  variations  of  form  his 
thoughts,  45.  What  the  state  of  man  from 
creation  is.  47.  Man  lives  in  an  interme- 
diate state,  47. 

Sus.  There  are  two  suns,  the  sun  of  the 
spiritual  worid  and  the  sun  of  the  natural 
worid,  85.  The  sun  of  the  spiritual  world 
is  the  divine  love  of  the  Lord,  and  the  sun 
of  the  natural  world  is  pure  fire,  85.     From 


the  sun,  which  is  divine  love,  the  whole 
work  of  creation  began,  and  through  the 
sun,  whicii  is  fire,  it  was  brought  to  com- 
pletion, 85.   . 

Sui'PKR  (The  Holy)  is  a  symbol  of  the 
Lord's  Church,  and  an  assurance  that  those 
who  believe  and  live  according  to  His  com- 
mandments in  the  Word  are  saved,  73. 

ScsTENT.vTiON  is  perpetual  creation,*  as 
subsistence  is  perpetual  existence,  102. 

SwEDENBORG.      He  testifies  before  the 
world   that  all  things  connected  with  his 
thought  and  will  entered  by  influx,  goods 
and  truths  through  heaven  from  the  Lord, 
and  evils  and  falses  from  hell,  and  that  for 
a  long  time  he  was  permitted  to  perceive 
It,  85.     He  testifies  that  for  fifteen  years 
he  clearly  perceived  that  he  had  no  thought 
or  will   of  himself,  &c.,  46.     He  declares 
that  it  was  given  him  to  see  this  enlighten- 
ment, and  from  it  to  perceive  distinctly 
that  which  proceeds  from  the  Lord,  and 
that  which  proceeds  from  the  angels,  and 
that,  besides,   he  was  permitted   to  con- 
verse with  the  angels  as  man  converses 
with  man,  75. 
Swine,  8  >. 

6>^>6.— Swine,  in  the  Word,  signify  those 
who  give  themselves  up  to  avarice, 
A.  C,  1742.  Swine,  Matt.  vu.  6,  sig- 
nify those  who  love  only  worldly 
riches,  A.  /?.,  726. 

Tables  of  the  Law.    In  one  of  these 
tables  is  God,  in  the  other  man,  72.     How 
these  two  tables  are  conjoined  in  man,  72 
These   tables  are  found  with   all  nations 
with  whom  there  is  any  religion,  72. 

Taste.  The  particles  turning'over  upon 
the  tongue  are  the  principal  cause  of 
taste,  and  the  tongue  is  the  instrumental, 
I  26.  The  sensory  of  taste  is  excited  by 
means  of  the  food  which  moves  upon  the 
tongue  from  without,  45. 

Teaching.    The  Lord  teaches  no  man 
;  without  the  use  of  means,  70, 

Teeth  are  among  the  ultimates  which 
are  produced  from  the  spiritual  principle  • 
the  life  which  is  from  the  soul  terminatinj? 
m  them,  100.  * 

Ofr*.— Teeth,  in  the  Word,  signifv  the 
sensual  principle,  whicli  is  the'  ulti- 
mate of  the  life  of  man.  If.  and  11.^ 
575.  * 

Temptations  are  not  punishments,  thev 
are  combats,  60. 

Thoughts,  {^^ee  Affections.)  Affections 
produce  thoughts  precisely  as  the  in- 
fluences of  Ijeat  in  a  garden  produce  the 
germinations  of  pl.ints,  by  means  of  the 
rays  of  light,  69 ;  thus  thoughts  are  the 
germinations  arising  from  the  conjugal 
union  of  spiritual  heat,  or  love,  with  the 
rays  of  spiritual  light,  or  truths,  69.  There 
IS  both  an  internal  thought  and  an  exter- 
nal thought,  48.  There  is  with  man 
thought  from  light  .and  thought  from  Iova 


8,    There  is  thought  given  from  light  con- 
cerning God,  and  there  is  thought  given 
which  is  not  from  light,  9.     The  thought  of 
the  natural  man  cannot  be  separated  and 
withdrawn  from  the  idea  of  time,  32.     The 
thought  of  the  spiritual  man,  because  it  is 
elevated  above  nature,  is  withdrawn  from 
time,  32.     All  the  thoughts  of  man  diffuse 
themselves    into    the    spiritual    world    in 
every  direction,  as  the  rays  of  light  are 
diffused  from  flame,  2.    It  is  the  spiritual 
world  into  which  thought  extends,  but  it 
is  the  natural  world  into  which  vision  ex- 
tends, 2.     The  thoughts  of  man  are  exten- 
sions into  societies  either  heavenly  or  in- 
fernal ;  unless  there  were  extensions  there 
would  be  no  thoughts,  3.    The  thought  of 
man  is  like  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  which, 
unless  it  had  extension  out  of  itself,  would 
be  either  no   faculty  of  sight  at  all,  or 
blindness,  3.     Thoughts  derived  from  good 
love  are  truths,  but  thoughts  derived  from 
evil  love  are  falsities,  3.    The  first  and 
primary  tliought  which  opens   heaven  to 
man  is   thought    concerning    God,    5,   6. 
Tho\ight    against    God    primarily    closes 
heaven  to  man,  5,  6. 

Tigers  (.The)  which  appear  in  hell  are 
manifestations  of  the  cupidities  of  infernal 
spirits,  89. 

6>6*.— Tigers,  in  the  Word,  represent  the 
infernal  cupidities  of  self-love,  T.  C. 
li.,  45. 
Time  is  a  property  of  nature,  not  of  life, 
83.    To  the  spiritual  man,  instead  of  the 
idea  of  time  tiiere  is  the  idea  of  the  state  of 
life,  and  instead  of  duration  of  time  there  is 
a  state  of  thought,  32.    Time,  with  its  suc- 
cession, and  space,with  its  extension,  do  not 
exist  in  the  spiritual  world  as  properties  be- 
longing to  it;  but  are  there  the  appear- 
ances of  states  of  life  in  those  who  dwell 
there,  100. 
Tongue  (The),  26. 

Tkinitv.  The  trinity  is  in  the  Lord,  13. 
God,  in  whom  is  the  trinity,  is  one  person, 
14.  The  trinity  in  the  Lord,  as  in  one  per- 
son, is  the  divine  principle  which  is  called 
the  Father;  the  divine  human,  which  is 
called  the  Son ;  and  the  divine  proceed- 
ing, which  is  called  the  Holy  Spirit,  14. 
The  divine  trinity  is  the  esse,  the  existere, 
and  the  procedere,  17.  What  sort  of  a 
threefold  principle  God  had  before  the 
Lord  assumed  the  human  principle,  and 
mide  it  divine  in  the  Word,  18,  Why  the 
Trinity  of  persons  was  inserted  in  the 
Athanasian  Creed  by  divine  permission, 
16. 

Truth  desires  to  be  in  the  light,  because 
the  light  of  heaven  is  divine  truth,  9, 
Truths  in  their  origin  are  rays  of  the  light 
of  heaven,  69.  The  truths  of  heaven  and 
the  Church  may  be  seen  by  the  understand- 
ing ;  in  heaven  spiritually,  and  in  the  world 
rationally,  9. 
TuRTLE-DovES    (The)  which  appear  in 


heaven  are  manifestations  of  the  affections 
of  angels,  89. 

(96«.— Turtle-doves,  In  the  Word,  si<xnify 

the  goods  and  truths  of  faith,  A.  C. 

1826.  '  ' 

Ultimate  (The).  There  is  nothing  but 
has  its  own  ultimate,  in  which  it  terminates 
and  stops,  98.  Intermediates  co-exist  in 
the  ultimates  from  the  first  source  to  the 
ultimate,  95.  The  work  of  creation  is  per- 
fected in  ultimates,  95.  The  ultimates  of  a 
man  are  what  are  called  flesh  and  bones. 
18.  ' 

Ultimates.  An  idea  of  state,  and  the 
consequent  idea  of  an  appearance  of  space 
and  time,  exist  only  in  and  from  the  ulti- 
mates of  creation  in  heaven,  which  are  the 
earth  upon  which  angels  dwell,  106. 

Understanding  (The)  is  the  internal 
sight,  46.  The  understanding  truly  hu- 
man is  the  very  faculty  of  seeing  truths,  9. 
It  sees  truths  as  clearly  as  the  eye  sees  ob- 
jects, 9.  It  sees  truths  as  it  loves  them,  for 
as  it  loves  them  it  is  enlightened,  9.  All 
the  truths  of  the  Word,  which  are  truths  of 
heaven  and  the  Church,  may  be  seen  by 
the  understanding,  in  heaven,  spiritually, 
and  in  the  world,  rationally,  9.  After 
death,  man  is  permitted  to  think  from  his 
understanding  only  in  accordance  with  the 
love  of  his  will,  65.  Man  is  not  reformed 
in  virtue  of  his  understanding,  66.  Every 
man  is  endowed  with  an  understanding 
capable  of  elevation  into  the  light  of 
heaven  :  what  the  true  state  of  the  case  is. 
103.  ^ 

Understanding  and  Will  (The).  It  is 
a  law  of  the  Divine  Providence,  that  the 
understanding  and  the  will  of  man  should 
not  be  compelled  by  another,  48.  The 
understanding  is  the  recipient  of  truth,  and 
the  will  the  recipient  of  good,  64.  The  un- 
derstanding is  derived  from  the  light  of 
heaven,  which,  in  its  essence,  is  divine 
truth  pr  wisdom ;  and  the  will  is  derived 
from  the  heat  of  heaven,  which,  in  its  es- 
sence, is  the  divine  good  or  love,  65.  The 
understanding  is  the  subject  or  receptacle 
of  truth,  and  of  the  wisdom  originating  in 
it ;  and  the  will  is  the  subject  or  receptacle 
of  good,  and  thus  of  love,  65.  See  Facul- 
ties ;  see  also,  65,  66. 

Union  (The)  of  the  Lord  with  .man,  and 
of  man  with  the  Lord,  by  means  of  love,  3S. 
There  is  a  union  of  spiritual  and  natural 
things  in  all  the  collective  and  several  parts 
of  the  world,  86. 

Unity  (The),  in  which  is  the  Trinity,  or 
the  one  God,  in  whom  is  the  threefold 
principle  (trinuin),  is  not  given  in  the  di- 
vine principle  which  is  called  the  Father, 
nor  in  the  divine  principle  which  is  called 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  in  the  Lord  alone,  13. 
Universe  (The),  34. 

Use  is  the  subject  of  all  affection.  Man 
cannot  be  affected  unless  it  is  for  the  sake 


1 

III 


206 


THE  ATHANASIAN   CREED. 


of  something,  and  this  something  is  use, 
101.  Everything,  great  as  well  as  small, 
was  created  from  use,  in  use,  and  for  use, 
84.  There  are  manifold  uses,  which  may 
be  divided  generally  into  heavenly  and  in- 
fernal, 83.  In  hell,  uses  are  performed 
from  fear ;  but  in  heaven,  from  love,  84. 
A  man  of  use  is  a  man  according  to  his  use, 
83.  Use,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  is  our 
neighbor,  83.  The  reason  that  use  is  a 
man's  neighbor  is,  that  every  man  is  valued 
and  loved,  not  for  his  understanding  and 
will  alone,  but  for  the  uses  which  he  per- 
forms, or  is  able  to  perform  from  them,  83. 
To  love  uses  is  the  same  thing  as  to  love 
our  neighbor,  83.  When  uses  are  loved  in 
preference  to  self  and  the  world,  and 
acquaintance  with  goodness  and  truth  is 
loved  for  the  sake  of  these  uses,  they  then 
occupy  the  first  place,  81.  The  love  of 
God  and  of  the  neighbor  is  the  love  of 
uses,  79.  Everything  that  love  produces 
is  use,  77.  (See  Ends.)  What  is  implied 
by  loving  uses  for  the  sake  of  uses,  83 
The  whole  heaven  is  full  of  uses,  112.  The 
uses  which  the  angels  perform  in  the 
heavens,  and  the  difterent  kinds  of  work 
which  the  spirits  do  in  the  hells,  are  in 
some  measure  similar  to  those  which  exist 
in  the  world ;  most  of  the  uses  are,  how- 
ever, spiritual,  and  cannot  be  described  in 
natural  language,  112.  A  life  originatinsr 
in  the  love  of  use  is  a  divine  spiritual  life  ; 
and,  therefore,  every  man  who  loves  good 
use,  and  from  the  love  of  it  performs  it,  is 
loved  by  the  Lord,  and  received  with  joy 
by  the  angels  in  heaven,  112.  Those  who 
perform  no  use,  are  banished  to  the  hells, 
112.  Since  all  things,  collective  and  seve- 
ral, were,  at  the  beginning,  created  in  the 
world  for  use,  and  all  things  also  in  man 
were  formed  for  use,  and  the  Lord  from 
creation  regarded  as  one  man  the  whole 
human  race,  each  member  of  which  is  in  a 
similar  manner  designed  for  use,  or  is  use; 
and  since  the  Lord  himself  is  the  life  of  this 
man, — it  is  plain  that  the  universe  was  so 
created  that  the  Lord  is  in  first  principles 
and  in  ultimates— in  the  centre  also  and 
in  the  circumferences — that  is.  in  the  midst 
of  all  things,  and  that  all  things  in  which 
He  is  are  uses.  From  these  circumstances 
also,  the  Lord's  omnipresence  and  omni- 
science may  be  underetood,  112.  The  uses 
which  angels  perform  in  the  heavens,  and 
the  different  kinds  of  work  which  the 
spirits  do  in  the  hells,  are  in  some  measure 
similar  to  those  which  exist  in  the  world, 
112. 

Variations  (By)  of  form  in  man  are 
meant  his  thoughts,  45. 

Vegetable.  In  every  vegetable  there  is 
an  idea,  as  it  were,  of  the  infinite  and  eter- 
nal, 92.  Vegetables,  and  animals  also,  ex- 
ist from  a  spiritual  origin,  by  means  of 
inherent,  active,  creative,  and  formative  ! 


forces,  93.  There  is  use  inherent  in  every 
vegetable— spiritual  use  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  both  spiritual  and  natural  use 
in  the  natural  world,  101.  Spiritual  use  is 
for  the  various  states  of  the  mind  {animus\ 
an«l  natural  use  for  tlie  various  states  of 
the  body,  lol.  The  soul  of  vegetables,  86, 
92-100.  Concerning  vegetables  in  heaven, 
99.  Difference  between  the  vciretables  iii 
the  spiritual  world  and  those  in  the  natu- 
ral. It  0.  Wonders  in  the  vegetable  kins- 
dom,  92.  " 

Vegetation  of  minerals  and  of  corals,  96. 

Venus,  22. 

Vipers,  90. 

Obs. — Vipers,  in  the  Word,  represent 
malice,  cunning,  and  imposture,  A.  0., 
6898.  * 

Visions  compel  the  external  of  man's 
spirit,  which  consists  in  thinking  and  will- 
ing, and  this  external  must  not  be  con- 
strained, 53.  If  man  could  be  reformed  by 
visions,  then  all  men  throughout  the  whole 
world  would  be  so,  53.  Visions  close  the 
path  of  man's  refonnation,  for  they  per- 
suade and  compel  belief,  and  thus  bind 
and  imprison  the  thoughts,  53.  Whom 
those  resemble  who  wish  for  visions,  54. 

Will.  There  is  an  internal  and  an  ex- 
ternal will,  48.  See  Understandina  and 
Will. 

Wisdom  is  the  form  of  love,  or  love  ex- 
isting in  form,  65.  With  the  angels,  the 
first  degree  of  wisdom  Ls  to  see  and  ac- 
knowledge that  no  ratio  is  given  between 
infinite  and  finite,  83.  The  divine  wisdom 
of  the  Lord  is  spiritual  light,  83.  To  love 
wisdom  is  to  love  real  uses,  81.    See  Use. 

Wolves,  89. 

06«.  — Wolves,  in  the  Word,  represent 
those  who  are  opposed  to  innocence, 
A.  C,  3994. 

Word  (The)  is  the  divine  principle  it- 
self of  the  Lord  on  the  earth,  75.  The 
Lord  teaches  man  by  means  derived  from 
the  Word,  67,  71.  Those  whom  the  Lord 
leads  are  enlightened  when  they  read  the 
Word,  75.  There  was  an  ancient  Word  in 
the  .ancient  Church,  which  was  atYerwarda 
lost,  71.  From  this  ancient  Word  the  re- 
ligious tenets  of  several  nations  were  de- 
rived, 71. 

World  (The  whole),  and  all  the  collec- 
tive and  several  objects  which  it  contains, 
derived  their  existence  and  still  subsist 
from  the  Lord,  tiie  creator  of  the  universe, 
80,  76,  85,  96,  and  elsewhere. 

World  of  Spirits  (The)  is  intermediate 
between  heaven  and  hell,  88. 

Obs. — The  world  of  spirits  is  part  of  the 
spiritual  world. 

Wt>RLD  (By  the  Spiritual)  are  meant 
both  heaven  and  hell,  each  being  divided 
in  the  most  orderly  manner  into  innume- 
rable societies,  according  to  all  the  varie- 
ties of  affections,  and  the  thoughts  orlgi- 


ALPHABETICAL   AND  ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


207 


nating  in  them,  58.  The  spiritual  world  is 
prior,  interior,  and  superior  to  the  natural 
world,  94.  All  that  belongs  to  the  spirit- 
nal  world  is  cause,  and  all  that  belongs  to 
the  natural  world  is  effect,  94. 

Worship.     The  divine  means  of  worship 
are  derived  from  the  Lord  through  the 


Word,  79.  The  demoniacal  means  of 
worship  consist  in  the  adorations  offered 
to  men.  living  and  dead  ;  to  sepulchres, 
also,  to  dead  bodies,  and  to  bones,  79. 

Worship  of  Saints.  Whence  it  has 
arisen,  22.  Why  Jupiter,  Saturn,  etc.,  were 
worshipped  as  gods  in  Greece  and  Italy,  22. 


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CATALOGUE  OF 


BOOKS,    PAMPHLETS,   AND    TRACTS, 


FOR  SALE  BY 


THE    GENERAL   CONVENTION 

OF   THE   NEW  JERUSALEM  IN  THE    UNITED    STATES   OF   AMERICA, 

AT  ITS  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  : 

NO.    20    COOPER    UNION,    NEW    YORK. 


Theological  Works  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

HEAVEN"  AND  HELL.  1  vol.  12mo.  Price,  plain,  85 
cents ;  bevelled  boards,  90  cents  ;  gilt,  $1.00 ;  postage,  16 
cents. 

The  same.  In  1  vol.  8vo.,  Am.  Swed.  Print,  and  Pub.  Society's 
edition,  price  $1.00.     Postage,  28  cents. 

^  This  work  unfolds  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  world,  describes  the  con- 
dition of  both  good  and  evil  spirits,  and  exhibits  the  general  arrange- 
ment of  the  inhabitants  of  both  heaven  and  hell,  and  the  scenery  by 
which  they  are  surrounded.  It  treats,  among  other  things,  of  the  form 
of  heaven  in  general  and  in  particular,  of  the  innumerable  societies  of 
which  the  whole  heaven  consists,  and*  of  the  correspondence  between 
the  things  of  heaven  and  those  of  earth ;  of  the  Sun  of  heaven,  and  the 
light  and  heat  thence  proceeding;  of  representative  appearances  in 
heaven,  and  of  the  changes  of  state  experienced  by  the  angels ;  of  their 
garments  and  habitations,  their  language  and  writings,  their  innocence 
and  wisdom,  their  government,  worship,  and  state  of  peace;  of  the 
origin  of  the  angelic  heaven,  and  its  conjunction  with  tlie  human  race 
by  means  of  the  Word ;  of  the  state  of  the  Heathen  and  young  child- 
ren ;  of  the  rich  and  poor,  and  of  the  wise  and  simple,  in  heaven ;  of  the 
occupations  of  the  angels ;  of  heavenly  joy  and  happiness ;  and  of  the 
immensity  of  heaven.  It  also  treats  of  the  World  of  Spirits,  the  first 
state  of  man  after  death,  and  the  successive  changes  which  he  has  to 
pass  through  subsequently ;  of  the  nature  of  hell,  and  the  true  Scrip- 
tural signification  of  the  devil,  satan,  hell-fire,  and  the  gnashing  of  teeth; 
of  the  appearance,  situation,  and  plurality  of  the  hells ;  and  of  the 
dreadful  wickedness  and  direful  arts  of  infernal  spirits ;  presenting  alto- 
gether a  rational  and  complete  system  of  Pneumatology,  and  one  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  the  teachings  of  Holy  Scripture. 


Catalogue  of 


THE  FOUR  LEADING  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  NEW 
CHURCH.  1  vol.  12mo.  Price,  plain,  75  cents;  gilt. 
90  cents.     Postage,  12  cents. 

The  same.  1  vol.  8vo.,  A.  S.  P.  and  P.  Soc.  ed.  Price  75 
cents.     Postage,  24  cents. 

Contains  four  treatises,  namely:  On  the  Lord;  the  Sacred  Scripture; 
Faith,  and  Life ;  in  which  the  New  Church  doctrine  is  presented  in  sys- 
tematic form,  with  abundant  illustrations  and  proofs  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

DOCTRINE  OF  THE  LORD.     Price  15  cents. 
DOCTRINE  OF  THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURES.  Price  lOcts. 
DOCTRINE  OF  FAITH.     Price  5  cents. 
DOCTRINE  OF  LIFE.     Price  10  cents. 

The  above  are  the  separate  parts  of  the  Four  Leading  Doctrines  in 
pamphlet  form. 

THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION.     1  vol.  8vo.     Price 

$2.40.     Postage,  36  cents. 
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This  work  contains  a  full  and  comprehensive  statement  of  the  The- 
ology of  the  New  Church  in  all  its  branches.  It  is  a  complete  body  of 
New  Church  Divinity,  and  the  best  work  for  those  to  study  who  desire 
to  master  the  logical  system  of  its  doctrines  from  beginning  to  end  in  the 
shortest  space  of  time.  The  Author  begins  by  demonstrating  the  exist- 
ence and  unity  of  God,  and  the  nature  of  the  Divine  Trinity  in  the  one 
person  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  from  this  central  point  proceeds  to 
treat  of  every  subject  of  interest  to  the  religious  man.  The  following 
leading  titles  of  the  several  chapters  will  show  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  ground  covered : 

I. — God,  the  Creator.  II. — The  Lord,  the  Redeemer.  III. — The  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  Divine  Operation  (treating  also  of  the  Divine  Trinity). 
IV. — The  Sacred  Scripture  or  Word  of  the  Lord.  V. — The  Decalogue 
explained  as  to  its  external  and  internal  sense.  VI. — Faith.  VII. — 
Charity  and  good  works.  VIII. — Free  "Will.  IX.-r-Repentance.  X. — 
Reformation  and  Regeneration.  XI. — Imputation.  XII. — Baptism. 
XIII. — The  Holy  Supper.  XIV. — The  Consummation  of  the  Age,  the 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  the- New  Heaven  and  the  New  Church. 

Between  the  chapters  are  given  relations  of  the  Author's  discussions 
in  the  spiritual  world  with  both  angels  and  devils,  on  many  matters  of 
interest,  in  some  of  which  will  be  found  anticipated  and  refuted,  heresies 
which  have  considerable  currency  at  the  present  day. 

THE    DIVINE    PROVIDENCE.     1   vol.  12mo.     Price   60 

cents.  Postage,  16  cents. 
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cents.  Postage,  24  cents. 
This  work  treats  of  the  nature  and  operations  of  the  Divine  Provi- 


JBoohs^  Pamphlets^  and  Tracts, 


S 


dence,  and  unfolds  the  laws  of  order  according  to  which  the  Lord's  moral 
government  is  regulated.  It  shows  that  the  Divine  Providence  has  for 
an  end  a  heaven  of  angels  from  the  human  race ;  that  it  works  not  at 
random,  but  according  to  certain  invariable  Laws  which  are  here  dis- 
closed ;  that  it  is  universal,  extending  to  the  least  things  as  well  as  to 
the  greatest ;  that  in  all  it  does,  it  has  respect  to  what  is  eternal  with 
man,  and  to  things  temporary  only  for  the  sake  of  what  is  eternal ;  that 
the  laws  of  Permission  are  also  among  the  laws  of  Divine  Providence ; 
that  evils  are  permitted  for  the  sake  of  the  end,  which  is  salvation ;  that 
the  Divine  Providence  is  equally  with  the  wicked  and  the  good ;  that 
every  man  may  be  reformed,  and  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  predes- 
tination ;  that  the  Lord  cannot  act  against  the  Laws  of  his  Providence, 
because  to  act  against  them,  would  be  to  act  against  his  Divine  Love 
and  his  Divine  Wisdom,  consequently  against  Himself. 

CONJUGIAL  LOVE.    1  vol  8vo.    Price  $1.50.    Postage,  28 

cents. 
The  same.     A.  S.  P.  and  P.  Soc.  ed.,  1  vol.  8vo.     Price  $1.00. 

Postage,  32  cents. 

A  work  which  treats  of  the  relation  of  the  sexes,  and  the  indissoluble 
nature  of  true  marriage ;  of  the  nature  and  origin  of  love  truly  couju- 
gial ;  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  and  the  Church,  and  its  correspond- 
ence ;  of  the  conjunction  of  souls  by  marriage,  so  that  they  are  no  longer 
two,  but  one  flesh ;  of  the  change  of  the  state  of  life  with  both  sexes 
by  marriage ;  of  the  causes  of  disaffection,  separations,  and  divorces  in 
marriage ;  of  the  causes  of  apparent  love,  friendship,  and  favor  in  mar- 
riages; and  of  iterated  marriages.  To  which  is  added  a  treatise  on 
Adulterous  or  Scortatory  Love  in  its  various  degrees,  showing  it  to  be 
in  its  nature  the  very  opposite  of  Conjugial  Love  as  heaven  is  to  hell. 

THE  NEW  JERUSALEM  AND  ITS  HEAVENLY  DOC- 
TRINE.    Pamphlet.     Price  10  cents. 

The  same.  1 8m o.  cloth.  T.  H.  Carter  &  Son's  edition.  Price 
50  cents.     Postage,  8  cents. 

Contains  a  short  account  of  the  teachings  of  the  New  Church  on 
twenty-five  important  points. 

DOCTRINE  OF  CHARITY.     Pamphlet.     Price  10  cents. 

THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  Pamphlet,  8vo.  Price  30 
cents. 

Describes  the  nature  of  the  Last  Judgment,  and  when  and  where 
it  took  place ;  showing  that  it  is  not  an  event  to  come,  but  one  already 
past. 

THE  INTERCOURSE  BETWEEN  THE  SOUL  AND  THE 
BODY.     Pamphlet.     Price  6  cents. 

Explains  the  relation  of  the  soul  to  the  body,  and  that  of  the  spiritual 
to  the  natural  world. 


I 


Catalogue  of 


Books  ^  Pamphlets^  and  Tracts. 


5 


THE  WHITE  HORSE  mentioned  in  Revelation.     Pamphlet 
l^rice  6  cents.  ^ 

Shows  what  is  meant  by  this  symbol  in  the  Book  of  Revelation 

THE  EARTHS  IN  THE  UNIVERSE.     Muslin,  gilt.    Price 

75  cents.     Postage,  12  cents. 
The  same.     Pamphlet  form.     Price  35  cents. 

Gives  an  account  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  planets  of  our  solar  svs- 

St'butloTtL'r  i'k^^^^^  ^".^.^^^^  starr/worlds-nol  from  acS 
signt,  but  from  the  relations  of  spirits  who  have  Hved  upon  them. 

^%^J™,^^^/ANDW^^^  1V01.8V0.     A.S. 

r.  and  P.  Soc.  ed.     Price  75  cents.     Postage,  20  cents 

or  oulwrkt^of  ^^^^^^^  of  theangels  concerning  the  operation 

or  outw  orkmg  of  the  Divine  Love  and  the  Divine  Wisdom  in  thp  rr^n 
tion  of  the  universe,  including  man  as  the  chief  end  of  creation      It  eT 

t:X^:^Tm:L't^^'^r'  V"^^  ^^'^l  ^^  ^^^  trlSl^Tmei^;^^^ 
fu  T-v  .  things  hnite,  which  iraatyes  the  Divine  It  imfnlriQ  ai«/^ 
the  Doctrine  of  Degrees,  and  explains  the  three  discrete  leree^^^fth^ 
human  mmd,  showing  when  and  by  what  means  these  areTpeued^d 

uses  ix^ot^t-I-  '''fP^-^f  It  further  reveals  the  oriR  ^U 
uses,  also  the  origm,  design,  and  tendency  of  good  uses. 

^^tyS\T^^^^}^  '  '^'  ^'^''^^y  ^'^--^  contained  in 
the   Holy   Scriptures   or  Word  of  the  Lord,  unfolded- 

together  with  wond^^^^  ,,en  and  heard   in  the 

world  of  spirits  and  in  the  heaven   of  angels.     10  vols. 

p2         aa'       .^""^  F'   ^r-  "^-     ^"^^    ^1-50  per  vol. 
Postage,  44  cents  each.     Any  volume  sold  separately. 

This  work  is  a  full  exposition  of  the  internal  or  spiritual  sense  noonrri 
ing  to  the  law  of  correspondences,  of  the  books  of  Genes  s3Vv^^^^^^^^ 
and^fSl  of''"  ^-^,-tjonal  explanation  of  the  histry  o    ?he  creatn 
and  fall  of  man-showing  what  is  symbolized  by  the  warden  of  FHpn 
the  tree  of  life,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  irood  and  evil  «r-f?ho  ' 

of  the  serpent  in  seducing  Adam  and  F^l      if    ^  I  ?"^  *^®  ^«®"^^ 

of  the  delu'ge  and  s:vTn7of^^rh^1a^i^  iull^VATtlul  '''''''. 
of  the  lives  of  the  Patriarchs  and  their'^WId  enf  the  c^pt  X  o7th'o 
diosen  people  m  Egypt,  their  delivery  thence,  their  wa^dS  hi  he 
wilderness,  and  the  miracles  performed  in  their  behalf  ^hrmeanin-  of 
RenerT tr^^^^^^^^  Religion,  its  sacrifices  and  observarrces,Tn^  in 

IS  obliged  to  explain  more  or  less  of  other  parts  of  re°&  which  ha 
often^does,  with  as  much  fuUness  as  the  tex't  of  the  book  ulrcotide! 

dying,  the  resurrection  of  man,  and  his  entrance  into  Eternal  Uf^^^^ 


cerning  the  nature  and  life  of  the  soul ;  concerning  heaven  and  heaven- 
ly joy ;  concerning  hell,  its  nature  and  its  miseries ;  concerning  spheres 
in  the  other  hfe;  concerning  the  light  and  heat  in  which  the  angels  live, 
and  their  paradisiacal  scenery ;  concerning  visions  and  dreams,  includmg 
the  prophetical  ones  recorded  in  the  Word ;  concerning  the  last  judg- 
ment; concerning  memory  in  the  other  life;  concerning  the  condition  of 
the  Mahometans  and  heathen  in  the  other  world:  concerning  man's 
freedom;  concerning  representatives  and  correspondences;  concerning 
the  Grand  Man,  or  the  whole  angelic  heaven,  and  the  correspondence  of 
the  different  societies  therein,  with  the  different  organs  and  senses  of 
the  human  body ;  concerning  the  origin  and  correspondence  of  diseases ; 
concerning  the  spirits  and  inhabitants  of  the  various  planets,  and  of 
other  earths  in  the  starry  heavens. 

THE  APOCALYPSE  REVEALED,  wherein  are  disclosed 
the  Arcf»na  there  foretold,  which  have  heretofore  remained 
concealed.  A.  S.  P.  and  P.  Soc.  ed.  2  vols.  8vo.  Price 
$2.50.     Postage,  72  cents. 

This  work  bears  the  same  relation  to  the  book  of  Revelation,  that  the 
Arcana  Coelestia  docs  to  Genesis  and  Exodus.  It  shows  that  by  the 
seven  (!liurches  in  Asia,  to  whom  this  prophecy  is  said  to  be  addressed, 
are  meant  aU  classes  of  Christians  of  the  present  day ;  by  the  Last 
Judgment  and  the  accompanying  portents,  not  an  event  which  is  to 
transpire  on  the  material  world,  but  one  which  has  already  taken  place 
m  the  world  of  spirits;  and  that  the  New  Jerusalem  coming  down  like 
a  bride  out  of  Heaven,  symbohzes  a  New  Church  founded  on  true  doc- 
trine and  adorned  by  a  life  according  to  the  Lord's  Commandments,  now 
being  built  up  among  us  of  the  present  day.  Incidentally,  also,  it  ex- 
plains numerous  passages  of  the  Word,  and  contains  many  statements 
of  facts  concerning  the  future  life  of  the  deepest  interest.  It  may  with 
truth  be  said  of  this— what  cannot  be  said  of  any  other  explication  of 
the  Apocalypse  ever  attempted— that  it  gives  a  rational,  consistent,  and 
coherent  meaning  to  this  Book,  rendering  plain  and  luminous  what 
before  has  been  confessedly  unintelligible  and  dark.  Instructive  narra- 
tives of  things  seen  in  the  spiritual  world,  are  also  interposed  between 
the  chapters. 

MISCELLANEOUS  THEOLOGICAL  WORKS.  I  vol.  8vo. 
A.  S.  P.  and  P.  Soc.  ed.  Price  $1.25.  Postage,  36 
cents. 

Contents:  /,r    x-       j    u       \ 

The  New  Jerusalem  and  its  Heavenly  Doctrine.     (Mentioned  above.) 

Brief  Exposition  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  New  Church. 

The   Nature   of  the   Intercourse   between  the   Soul  and  the  Body. 

(Mentioned  above.)  ,    ..,     *         a-  \ 

The  White   Horse  mentioned  in   the  Apocalypse  (with  Appendix). 

(Mentioned  above.) 

The  Earths  in  the  Universe.    (Mentioned  above.) 

The  Last  Judgment  (with  "  Continuation  ").    (Mentioned  above.) 


6 


Catalogue  of 


THE  APOCALYPSE  EXPT  A  mpn     «     ,    „ 

edition.     Pricfi  ^1  q  nn  }^^^^^I^-  .  6  vols.  8vo.     London 
etc.)  ^^^•^'^  (''^'■^"'g  ^^»th  the  price  of  gold, 

all  parts  of  the  ^^^l^^xl^'lZZT'^lT^' f  ^^^''^''^^^'^^ 
Student.  ^  renaers  it  of  great  value  to  the  Bible 

EXPOSITIOxV  OF  THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS    (v 
the  Apocalypse  Explained.)     Pan^ptlef 'SoS: 

THE  ATHANASIAN  CREED     CFron,  t),»  a        , 

plained.)     ivol    i  q^a     ^w/  *•     '^P^^'^'^Pse  Ex- 

11.25.     Postale  '      ''^  \rP'°"^  /»d«^-    P^ce 

^  '  .     (In  press.) 

for  presents.  ^  p^miea,  ana  some  copies  nchlj  bound 

etc.).    Postrr4fcentsf'^"^"^  "'^'^  ^'^^  ?"-  ^^  A 
Price  87  celr  PoXt  16  cents  ^^^^'-     ^  -'•   ^^mo. 

DOCmiENTS  CONCERNING  TFTP   TTFP    avtt^   ^tt. 
LIFE  OP  SWEDESBORG  FOR  CHILDREN.    B,  M„  S 


i:1 


■^? 


1 


Boohs^  Pamphlets^  and  Tracts, 


Collateral  and  Explanatory  Works  relating  to  the 
Doctrines  of  the  New  Church. 

THE    NATURE    OF    SPIRIT,  AND    OF    MAN    AS    A 
SPIRITUAL  BEING.     By  Rev.  Chauncey  Giles.     1  vol. 
12mo.     Price  81.25,  postage  incliided. 
Contents : 

The  Nature  of  Spirit  and  of  the  Spiritual  World.— Man  Essentially  a 
Spiritual  Being.— The  Death  of  Man.— The  Resurrection  of  Man.— Man 
m  the  World  of  Spirits.— The  Judo^ment  of  Man.— Man's  Preparation 
for  his  Final  Home.- The  State  of  Man  m  Hell— Man  in  Heaven. 

THE  INCARNATION,  ATONEMENT,  AND  MEDIATION 
OF  THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST.  By  the  same  author. 
1  vol.  12mo.  Price,  cloth,  50  cents;  paper  covers, 
25  cents,  postage  included. 

Contents : 

^  The  Incarnation,  its  Nature  and  Necessity.— Salvation  through  Suffer- 
ing, not  by  It.— Salvation  through  Christ's  Death,  not  by  it.— The  Ascen^ 
sion  and  Mediation  of  the  Lord. 

LETTERS  TO  A  MAN  OF  THE  WORLD  DISPOSED  TO 
BELIEVE.  By  J.  F.  E.  Le  Boys  des  Guays.  Translated 
from  the  French.  1  vol.  12mo.  Price,  plain,  90  cents; 
gilt,  $1.00.     Postage,  16  cents. 

ESSAYS  BY  THEOPHILUS  PARSONS,  Dane  Professor  of 
Law  at  Harvard  College.     12 mo. 

First  Series.     Price  75  cents.     Postage,  12  cents. 
Second  "  "      87     "  "16     " 

Third     "  "  $1.00  «        16     " 

Subjects  of  the  First  Series : 

mi.^®*7r^^°^^^^'^^®*~^^^^®^P^^^®^^®-— The  Human  Form.— Reli«-ion- 
— The  New  Jerusalem. 

Subjects  of  the  Second  Series : 

The  Seeming  and  the  Actual.— The  Senses.— The  Ministry  of  Sorrow 
—The  Sabbath.— The  Foundation  of  Deity.— Death  and  Life. 

Subjects  of  the  Third  Series: 
He  Cometh  in  Clouds.— Paradise.— The  Sea.— The  End  of  the  Church. 

THE  AUTHENTICITY  OF  THE  GOSPELS.  By  Hon.  P. 
W.  Chandler,  of  Boston.  1  vol.  12mo.  Price,  plain, 
*1.25;  full  gilt,  $1.50.  ^ 


> 


8 


Catalogue  of 


Books,  Pamphlets,  and  Tracts, 


9 


AN  APPEAL  in  behalf  of  the  views  of  the  eternal  world  and 
state,  and  the  doctrines  of  faith  and  life  held  by  the  body 
of  Christians  who  believe  that  a  New  Church  is  signified 
(in  the  Revelation,  Chap,  xxi.)  by  the  New  Jernsalem,  em- 
bracing answers  to  all  principal  objections.  By  Rev.  S. 
Noble.     1  vol.  12rao.     Price  $1.50.     Postage,  24  cents. 

This  work,  commonly  known  as  "Noble's  Appeal,"  is  the  best  and 
most  comprehensive  answer  to  the  attacks  made  upon  the  New  Ghurcli 
doctrines  that  has  ever  been  written,  and  is  well  worthy  the  careful 
perusal  of  inquirers. 

THE  PHENOMENA  OF  MODERN  SPIRITUALISM.  By 
Rev.  W.  B.  Hay  den.  1  vol.  12mo.  Price  75  cents. 
Postage,  8  cents. 

ELEMENTS  OF  CHARACTER.  By  Mrs.  Mary  G.  Ware. 
1  vol.  12mo.     Price  $1.00.     Postage,  16  cents. 

THOUGHTS  IN  MY  GARDEN.  By  the  same  author. 
Price  $1.25.     Postage,  12  cents. 

DEATH  AND  LIFE.  By  the  same  author.  Price  $1.00. 
Postage,  12  cents. 

OUR  ETERNAL  HOMES.  By  a  Bible  Student.  1  vol. 
12mo.     Price  $1.25.     Postage,  12  cents. 

THE  SYMBOLIC  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SACRED 
SCRIPTURES.  By  Rev.  Abiel  Silver.  1  vol.  12mo. 
Price  $1.00.     Postage,  16  cents. 

THE  HOLY  WORD  IN  ITS  OWN  DEFENCE.  Addressed 
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LIFE :  ITS  NATURE,  VARIETIES,  AND  PHENOMENA. 
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Tracts— Ohio  Series. 


1. 


The    Doctrines    of    the    New 
Cliurch. 

2.  The  Divine  Trinitf. 

3.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4.  The  Atonement. 

5.  Tlie  Sacred  Scrii3tiire. 

6.  Science  of  Correspondences. 
Api)arent  Truths  of  the  Word. 
Creation  and  Fall  of  Man. 
The  General  Deluge. 
End  of  the  World. 

11.  Nature  and  Use  of  Prayer. 

12.  Spiritual  Temptations. 


7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 


]3. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 


Doctrine  of  Regeneration. 
What  is  True  Charity? 
What  is  True  Faith? 
Meaning  and  Use  of  Baptism; 
Tlie  Holy  Supper. 
What  is  Life? 

19.  Doctrine  of  the  Resurrection. 

20.  The  Last  Judgment. 

21.  Origin  of  Angels. 

22.  Heaven. 

23.  Hell  and  its  Miseries. 

24.  Life    and   Works   of   Sweden- 

borg. 


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Periodicals  of  the  General  Convention. 

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DOCTRINES  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCH, 

(Signified  by  the  New  Jerusalem,  Rev.  xxi.) 


God  is  One  in  Essence  and  in  Person,  in  wliom^there  is  n  distinct  and 
essential  Trinity  of  Love,  Wisdom,  and  Power,  called  in  the  Word  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  this  God,  and 
the  only  true  object  of  worship. 

II. 

In  order  to  be  saved,  man  must  believe  on  the  Lord,  aud  strive  to 
obey  Ilis  Commandments,  looking  to  Ilim  alone  for  strength  and  assist- 
ance, and  acknowledging  that  all  life  and  salvation  are  from  lliin. 

III. 

The  Sacred  Scripture,  or  the  Divine  Word,  is  not  only  the  Revelation 
of  the  Lords  Will  and  the  history  of  His  deahngs  with  men,  but  also 
contains  the  infinite  treasures  of  His  Wisdom  expressed  in  symboUcal 
or  correspondential  language,  and  therefore,  in  addition  to  the  sense  of 
the  letter,  there  is  in  the  Word  an  inner  or  spiritual  sense,  which  can  be 
interpreted  only  by  the  law  of  correspondence  between  things  natural 
and  things  spiritual. 

TV. 

Now  is  the  time  of  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  t(jretol<l  in  Matt, 
xxiv.,  and  the  establishment  of  the  New  Church  signified  by  the  New 
Jerusalem  in  Revelation  xxi.,  and  this  Second  Coming  is  not  a  visible 
appearance  on  earth,  but  a  new  disclosure  of  Divine  Truth  and  the  pro- 
mulgation of  true  Christian  Doctrine,  effected  by  means  of  the  Lord's 
servant,  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  who  was  specially  instructed  in  this  Doc- 
trine, aud  commissioned  to  publish  it  to  the  world. 

V. 

Man's  life  in  the  material  body  is  but  the  preparation  for  eternal  life, 
and  when  the  body  dies,  man  immediately  rises  into  the  spiritual  world, 
and,  after  preparation  in  an  intermediate  state,  dwells  for  ever  in  Heaven 
or  Hell,  according  to  the  character  acquired  during  his  earthly  life. 

VI. 

The  Spiritual  World,  the  eternal  home  of  men  after  death,  is  not 
remote  from  this  world,  but  is  in  direct  connection  with  it,  and  wo  aro, 
though  unconsciously,  always  in  immediate  communion  with  angels  and 
spirits. 


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